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{united states of AMERICA. I 



PULPIT ECHOES 



BRIEF MISCELLANEOUS DISCOURSES. 



BY 

JOHN SCOTT, D. D. 



Il 



CINCINNATI: J 
PUBLISHED BY C. AVERY SCOTT. 

PITTSBURGH: 
METHODIST BOARD OF PUBLICATION. 

1873. 



of/ ^^\ 







Entered, according to Act of Congress, in the year 1873, 

BY JOHN SCOTT, D. D., 
In the Office of the Librarian of Congress, at Washington. 



Stereotyped by 

OoDEN, Campbell & Company, 

176 Elm St., Cincinnati. 



To my aged and saintly 

MOTHER, 

Now 7tiore than fourscore years and ten, and for nearly 

ih7'ee-quarters of a century a hujnble and 

sincere follower of fesus^ 

THIS VOLUME, 

As a token of dutiful affection^ is lovingly inscribed^ 

by 

THE AUTHOR. 



INTRODUCTORY NOTE. 



THE author, whether wisely or unwisely, 
has consented, in compliance with the 
solicitations of a number of friends, 
to present to the public this unpretending vol- 
ume of brief, practical discourses, hoping that 
it may be the means of doing some good. 
The following note from the Rev. B. P. Ayde- 
lott, D. D., in whose judgment the author has 
great confidence, and who kindly consented 
to examine the manuscripts of a few of the 
discourses, had much to do in influencing the 
author's decision : 

Cincinnati, May 15, 1873. 
Rev. Dr. Scott: My dear Brother: I have carefully, 
and, I am happy to add, with much satisfaction, read a 
part of your volume of manuscript discourses. 

I might have known their author if you had not re- 
vealed it to me before. They are mostly of a piece with 
all the sermons I have heard from your lips witli so 

S 



6 Introductory Note. 

much pleasure and edification — simple, clear, eminently 
practical, and exhibiting an unction strikingly Christian. 
The latter part of the sermon on the ^^ Resurrection of 
Christ'' is very touching, beautiful, and sublime. Should 
you publish, I pray God to bless your labor of love to 
all who may read the book or any one of the sermons. 
Your brother in Christ, 

B. P. AYDELOTT. 

That the Master may be honored and the 
reader benefited by the perusal of this volume, 
is the sincere prayer of the 

AUTHOR. 



CONTENTS. 



I. 

Page. 
THE GOSPEL, THE WORD OF GOD, . . . .11 

11. 

GLORYING IN THE CROSS, . . . . % .28 

HI. 
GRACE AND GLORY, . . . . . . .43 

IV. 
CHRIST'S FIRST MIRACLE, 63 

V. 

THE APOSTLES' REPORT, 77 

VI. 
THE WATERS OF MARAH, 95 

VIL 

THE GOOD OLD WAY, 109 

7 



8 Contents. 

VIII. 

Page. 
THE KING OF ZION, 124 

IX. 

WHAT THE APOSTLES DID AND TAUGHT, . . 146 

X. 

THE ADVENT OF CHRIST— 77/^ Birth of Jesus, . . 159 

XL 

THE ADVENT OF CHRIST— 77^^ P/ace of his Birth, . . 181 

XII. 
THE ADVENT OF CHRIST— 77/^ Time of his Biiih, . . 198 

XIII. 

THE ADVENT OF QYi^l^T—Circtimstances Attending his 

Birth, 221 

XIV. 
CHRIST REJECTED, 240 

XV. 

THE RESURRECTION OF CHRIST, .... 255 

XVI. 
TRIAL AND TRIUMPH, 282 

XVII. 
JOURNEYING TO ZION, 299 



PULPIT ECHOES. 



PULPIT ECHOES. 



THE GOSPEL, THE WORD OF GOD. 

*^ For this cause also thank we God without ceasing, because, zuhen ye 
received the word of God which ye heard of us, ye received it not as the 
word of men, but, as it is in truth, the word of God, which effectually 
worketh also in yotc that believed I Thess. ii : 13. 

THE human mind appears naturally con- 
stituted to be religious. All nations 
of men have their religious systems. 
These systems are numerous and varied. 
There is one particular, however, in which 
they all agree — the acknowledgment of a Su- 
preme Being, from whom they all profess to 
be derived. A belief in the existence of a 
God is the fundamental principle of all re- 
ligion. That which is supposed to be the 
revelation of his will constitutes the essence 
of every religious system. The truth of the 
former of these positions every religion ac- 
knowledges, and the substance of the latter 

II 



12 Pulpit Echoes, 

every religion claims. Of all the conflicting 
systems of religion that exist in the world 
only one can be true. Of two opposing sys- 
tems, one must necessarily be false, for it is 
impossible that two opposites should be true. 
The establisrhment of the truth of any one 
system of religion is virtually, therefore, the 
establishment of the falsehood of every op- 
posing system. There can be but one Su- 
preme God, and, as a matter of course, he 
can have but one will, for he can not be in 
conflict with himself. If any religion, then, 
can be proved to be the revelation of his 
will, its claim to be the true religion is there- 
by established. Christianity pre - eminently 
claims to be this revelation. The Apostle 
Paul declares, in writing to his Thessalonian 
brethren, that when they heard the Gospel 
they ''receive^d it not as the word of men, but, 
as it is in truth, the word of God.'' 

The term, ''word of God,'' is here used to 
denote the revelation of God's grace to the 
world through a Mediator, and embraces the 
whole system of redeeming mercy, necessary 
to man's salvation, revealed in the sacred 
writings of the Old and New Testament 
Scriptures. 



The Gospel, the Word of God. 13 

That the Gospel Is what it purports to be, 
not the word of men, but, in truth, the word 
of God, is satisfactorily established by a can- 
did consideration of the evidences with which 
it is accompanied. 

The possibility of a divine revelation, no 
one who believes in the existence of a God of 
infinite power, wisdom, and knowledge, can 
reasonably deny; and that God can, if he see 
fit, communicate his will to men, in an extra- 
ordinary way, different from that in which, 
by the ordinary exercise of their rational 
faculties, they discover truth, must be admit- 
ted. The necessity of a divine revelation, to 
every one who is acquainted with the his- 
tory and moral condition of our race, must 
be apparent. The possibility and necessity 
of a divine revelation being admitted, the 
probability of such a revelation is naturally 
inferred. To suppose that God possesses the 
power to make a revelation of his character 
and will to men, and yet, while such a reve- 
lation is necessary to their happiness and 
welfare, that he should withhold it, would be 
a direct reflection on the goodness and recti- 
tude of his character. The presumption, then. 



14 Pulpit Echoes. 

to begin with, is clearly in favor of a divine 
revelation. 

The claims of the Gospel to a divine 
origin are supported, in the first place, by a 
consideration of the character and circum- 
stances of the sacred penmen. If it be not, 
as it professes to be, the word of God, the 
sacred writers must have been either deceived 
themselves, or they must have labored to de- 
ceive others. It was impossible that they 
could have been deceived themselves, for 
they recorded that which they saw and heard. 
They had the evidence of their senses to the 
truth of the facts which they related. This 
is the strongest evidence that can be pre- 
sented, and that on which all other evidence, 
relating to external things, must necessarily 
depend. It is equally impossible that they 
should have attempted to deceive others. 
There were no motives which could have in- 
duced them to engage in such an enterprise. 
It afforded no prospect of worldly gain, no 
hope of worldly honor, or of worldly pleasure, 
but, on the contrary, it presented the cer- 
tainty of disgrace, suffering, danger, and per- 
haps death. It can hardly be conceived 
possible that any class of men should have 



The Gospel, the Word of God. 15 

engaged in such an attempt, without any mo- 
tives of a worldly nature to influence their 
minds, and in opposition to motives of the 
strongest character. It has been justly ob- 
served that the sacred penmen were either 
good or bad men. If they were good men, 
they could not have consented to deceive 
others. If they were bad men, they would 
not have devised and labored to establish a 
system of religion in opposition to their own 
principles, feelings, and desires, and which 
condemned in the most explicit manner their 
own character and conduct. 

A consideration of the great number of 
the books in which the doctrines and facts 
of the Gospel are contained, and of the dif- 
ferent writers by whom they were composed, 
living in different countries, and in different 
ages of the world, and the perfect harmony 
of the whole, composing one grand system 
of morals and religion, while it presents the 
impossibility of collusion on the one hand, 
affords the strongest presumption of divine 
aid on the other. No instance can be ad- 
duced in which any other system of morals, 
or religion, or even philosophy, has been con- 
ceived and developed in a similar manner. 



1 6 Pulpit Echoes. 

The history of the world can not produce a 
parallel. 

The matter, the style, the harmony, and 
the design of the Gospel, are such as give 
evidence of its divine origin. Its doctrmes 
are pure, and inspire a spirit of exalted and 
rational piety. It is free from the errors and 
imperfections which mark the productions 
of mere men. The views which it presents 
of the character and government of God 
are perfectly in accordance with the ideas we 
derive from the light of nature, while they 
abundantly supply the defects of natural 
religion. Its style exceeds in majesty, au- 
thority and grandeur all that has ever been 
admired in the compositions of men. It is 
chaste and pure, and perfectly adapted in 
every instance to the subject under consid- 
eration. It rises from the most simple nar- 
rative to the most sublime imagery. Its har- 
mony is perfect. Although it was composed 
by so many different persons, at so many 
different times, yet there is a perfect agree- 
ment between all its parts. They at once 
perfect and confirm each other. Its design 
is too grand and comprehensive to have been 
conceived by the mind of man. It embraces 



The Gospel^ the Word of God. 1 7 

the whole human family in its extent, and 
time and eternity in its duration. Such a 
system could never have been conceived by 
the unaided power of human reason. It is 
infinitely above the capacity of man. 

In addition to the evidence in support 
of the divine origin of the Gospel, arising 
from a consideration of the character and 
circumstances of the sacred writers, and of 
the character of the Gospel itself, the evi- 
dence arising from prophecy and miracles is 
direct and positive. 

Prophecy is defined to be ''a declaration, 
or description, or representation of some- 
thing future, beyond the power of human sa- 
gacity to discern or to calculate, as the high- 
est evidence that can be given of super- 
natural communion with the Deity, and of 
the truth of a revelation from God.'' None 
but God, and those whom he inspires, can 
certainly know and foretell what will come 
to pass in the future. But the Cxospel con- 
tains a great variety of prophecies, involv- 
ing the truth of the most essential doctrines 
of the Christian religion, uttered by men who 
professed to be divinely inspired, many of 
which predictions, after the la[)se of ages, 



1 8 Pulpit Echoes. 

were literally fulfilled. The doctrines which 
these prophecies necessarily embrace are 
either true or false. If they are true, they 
establish the claims of our holy Christianity, 
and God by inspiring the prophets has mani- 
fested his solicitude to promote truth, and 
impress it upon the minds of men. But if 
they are not true, then God has exercised 
his intelligence in a manner every way cal- 
culated to promote falsehood and deceive 
mankind. This inference is too impious and 
absurd to be entertained for a moment. To 
avoid this absurdity, we are forced to the 
conclusion that the Gospel, which contains 
these prophecies, and the doctrines which they 
were designed to establish, is not the word 
of men, but, in truth, the word of God. 

The evidence derived from miracles is of 
the most incontestable character. A miracle 
is a "suspension or counteraction of what 
are called the laws of nature, wrought either 
by the immediate act, or by the assistance, 
or by the permission of God, and accom- 
panied with a previous notice or declaration 
that it is performed according to the pur- 
pose and by the power of God, for proof or 
evidence of some particular doctrine, in at- 



The Gospel, the Word of God. 19 

testation of the authority or divine mission 
of some particular person." None but the 
God of nature can suspend or counteract the 
laws of nature. Yet Moses, the prophets, 
and the apostles, professedly as instruments 
in the hand of God, performed many works 
of a truly miraculous character, as proofs 
that the doctrines which they taught were 
divine in their origin. Christ, in his own 
name, and by his own power, performed a 
great variety of works, in proof of the di- 
vinity of his person, the authority of his 
mission, and the truth of the doctrines which 
he taught, in the performance of which the 
known laws of nature were evidently sus- 
pended or counteracted. That many of these 
works were of a truly miraculous charac- 
ter is susceptible of demonstration beyond a 
rational doubt. They were such as to be 
judged of by men's outward senses, and 
were performed publicly, in the presence of 
a great number of witnesses, not only friends, 
but also enemies. Public monuments and 
actions were commenced at the time, and 
were afterward observed in commemoration 
of their performance. The observance of 
some of these rites has been perpetuated to 



20 Pulpit Echoes. 

the present time. If, then, the laws of nature 
can only be controlled by the God of na- 
ture, and if these laws were counteracted 
in proof that the Gospel is not the word of 
men, but, in truth, the ' word of God, it nec- 
essarily follows that it must be what it pur- 
ports to be, or that the God of eternal truth 
must have exercised his power to give his 
divine sanction to falsehood. From such an 
inference the mind shrinks back with horror. 

The effects produced by the Gospel afford 
another evidence of its divine origin and 
authority — "It effectually worketh'' in them 
that receive it. The effects and influence 
of any system afford a correct criterion by 
which to judge of its character. Tried by 
this rule the Gospel is all that it professes, 
to be. 

It possesses an enlightening power and in- 
fluence, and makes known to us the will of 
God in reference to our salvation. Reason 
can discover our sinfulness, but revelation 
only can make known the remedy. The Gos- 
pel reveals God's gracious design to save 
us, the medium through which salvation is 
rendered possible, and the conditions on 
which, through that medium, salvation may 



The Gospel, the Word of God. 2 1 

be obtained. Wherever the Gospel has been 
proclaimed and received, ignorance and su- 
perstition have been dispelled ; the blessings 
of civilization have been diffused; men have 
been made acquainted with their rights, and 
have been taught to respect the rights of 
others; and the arts and sciences have been 
cultivated and have flourished. In profes- 
sedly Christian countries, these blessings are 
enjoyed in proportion to the extent to which 
the people have access to the Bible and 
conform to its requirements. 

In addition to its enlightening influence, 
it possesses a renewing power. It proposes 
to change the heart, renew the mind, trans- 
form the nature, and impart joy and peace 
to the soul. All those who have complied 
with its requirements have experienced this 
great change. The carnal mind in them has 
been destroyed ; every grace of the Spirit 
has been implanted in their hearts; old things 
with them have passed away, and all things 
have become new. They have thus realized 
in their individual experience the truth of 
its promises. This is an experimental, prac- 
tical test, and amounts to a positive dem- 
onstration to the individual mind. No form 



22 Pulpit Echoes, 

of evidence can, to the believing mind, ex- 
ceed this in clearness and strength. An in- 
dividual who has experienced this change 
would as soon doubt his existence as call in 
question its reality. This is the fulfillment 
of the declaration of Christ, that if any man 
will do the will of his Father, " he shall know 
of the doctrine, whether it be of God." This, 
to the Christian mind, amounts to positive 
knowledge, and the testimony of such to oth- 
ers possesses the strongest moral force. 

The reformatory power of the Gospel, also, 
affords practical evidence of its truth. That 
the change which it produces in the heart 
is real, is evident from the reform which it 
effects in the life. It turns men away from 
vice to virtue, and from disobedience to the 
wisdom of the just. It makes men better in 
every relation of life. Many who were out- 
casts from society, depraved, abandoned, and 
wretched, through its influence have been re- 
claimed, elevated, and made useful members 
of society. If it is not true, whence does it 
derive this reforming, elevating, and saving 
power? If it is false, how does falsehood 
come, in this exceptional case, to promote the 
very best interests of men, while in every 



The Gospel, the Word of God. 23 

other instance it produces mischief and ruin? 
Is it possible for any system, conceived in 
fraud, and essentially false in fact, to produce 
such effects as are produced by the Gospel, 
wherever it has been received, and its con- 
ditions complied with? Every effect partakes 
of the nature of its cause, and we can not 
rationally expect that which is inherently false 
and evil to produce that which is essentially 
good. But the Gospel, unquestionably, pro- 
duces the very best fruits. Its effects are 
of the most beneficial character. Wherever 
it has been received these effects have been 
produced, and are such as we might natu- 
rally expect from a system emanating from 
God, and they afford convincing, evidence of 
its divine origin. 

If it be objected that these effects, in- 
stead of being universal, are but partial and 
limited in their extent, and that many who 
have heard the Gospel have not felt its re- 
newing power, and that, therefore, it has 
failed to accomplish the end for which it was 
professedly given, and consequently can not 
be from God, I reply that this assumption is 
entirely unfounded in fact, and maintain that 
the Gospel has accomplished all that it ever 



24 Pulpit Echoes. 

was designed to effect. It effectually work- 
eth in them that receive it, and it never was 
designed to do more than this. ''It is the 
power of God unto salvation to every one 
that believeth/' and it never was intended to 
be such to any other. It never was designed 
to save impenitent, unbelieving minds, who 
cling to their sins and will not cease their 
rebellion against God. Its failure to do so, 
instead of proving its inefficiency, is a demon- 
stration of the truth of one of its fundamental 
doctrines, that '' the carnal mind is enmity 
against God, and is not subject to the law of 
God, neither indeed can be." No system of 
truth can influence and control the minds of 
those who reject it. 

The Cxospel, I remark again, is proclaimed 
by men, and its great facts are sustained 
by human testimony. These facts were at 
first demonstrated to those who witnessed 
them, and are received by us on their testi- 
mony. But this can form no reasonable ob- 
jection to their truth. God has a right to 
make known his will according to his own 
good pleasure, and in choosing to rest its 
claims, after their first divine authentication, 
on human testimony, he has manifested his 



The Gospel, the Word of God. 25 

great solicitude for our welfare, and has 
adopted the most effectual means to promote 
confidence between man and man. The re- 
jection of human testimony, and the intro- 
duction of immediate and personal revelation, 
in making known the truths of the Gospel, 
would tend to introduce universal infidelity 
and distrust into the world, and thus sever 
the strongest bond that unites society togeth- 
er. But if human testimony be not wholly 
rejected, why receive it in reference to one 
class of subjects, and reject it in reference 
to another ? Any fact which is capable of 
being clearly perceived by the human senses 
may be established by human testimony. 
This is the character of the great leading 
facts of the Gospel on which the truth of its 
doctrines to a very great extent depends. 
They were addressed not only to the judg- 
ment but also to the senses of men, and are 
therefore capable of being established by 
competent human testimony. This testimony 
has been given in their support, and on this 
testimony we are called to receive the Gos- 
pel, '' not as the word of men, but, as it is 
in truth, the word of God.'' The facts them- 
selves prove the Gospel to be divine, and 

3 



26 Pulpit Echoes. 

these facts are clearly established beyond 
a rational doubt by the testimony of those 
who witnessed them, so that in the recep- 
tion of the Gospel we are taught to exercise 
confidence not only in God but also in men. 
We can not conceive of any better means 
for the prom.otion of human happiness than 
the cultivation of sympathy and confidence 
among men. God, in the dispensation of the 
Gospel, by requiring men to labor for each 
others welfare, and to receive each other's 
testimony, has adopted the very best means 
for the promotion of universal sympathy and 
universal confidence, and, consequently, of 
universal happiness. 

The Thessalonians received the Gospel 
when they heard it proclaimed by the apos- 
tle, '' not as the word of men, but, as it is in 
truth, the word of God." Having received 
it, it brought forth its legitimate fruits in 
their hearts and lives. We having heard the 
Gospel should also receive it. It presents 
its claims to our minds, sanctioned by the 
highest authority, and it should be received 
widi the fullest credence, not as the word 
of men, "but, as it is in truth, the word of 
God.'' The imperfection of the messenger 



The Gospel, the Word of God. 27 

does not destroy the authority of the mes- 
sage. The medium of communication may 
be imperfect, but the communication itself is 
divine. 

To you is tne word of this salvation sent. 
The Gospel comes to you with all its di- 
vine sanctions, its precious promises, and glo- 
rious hopes. It is worthy of your highest 
confidence. Will you receive it in the love 
of the truth, and submit your heart and life 
to its control? If you do, it will effectually 
work in you, and you shall know of the doc- 
trine, that it is of God. But if you reject 
it you shall perish in your sins. 



28 Pulpit Echoes. 



11. 

GLORYING IN THE CROSS. 

^' But God forbid that I should glory, save in the cross of our Lord 
yesus Christ, by whom the world is crucified unto me, and I unto the 
world,^^ Galatians iv: 14. 



JL, ^ 



VERY man has something which he 
prizes above all things else — some- 
'^ thing in which he takes a special 
pride — something, in fact, in which he glories. 
These objects of esteem are as various as 
the ever-varying tastes of men. In some in- 
stances these preferences are based on just 
and sufficient reasons, but in others they are 
entirely chimerical and absurd. What one 
man considers of the greatest moment, an- 
other regards as of but little consequence ; 
what one man prizes as his chief good, an- 
other regards as of comparatively little value. 
This is owing to the different, standards that 
men adopt, by which to judge of the good 
or evil qualities of objects. Choosing an im- 
proper standard, as a matter of course, erro- 



Glorying in the Cross. 29 

neous conclusions are reached. Whatever 
there is of an earthly character that is good, 
judging by the true standard of v/orth, is 
only such in a comparative and very inferior 
degree. In an absolute sense there is noth- 
ing of a temporal nature in v/hich we may 
truly glory. Every thing earthly is unsub- 
stantial and perishing, and can not properly 
be made the object of our trust. We should, 
therefore, seek that which is substantial and 
enduring as the object of our supreme re- 
gard. Hence it is said, ''Let not the wise 
man glory in his wisdom, neither let the 
mighty man glory in his might, let not the 
rich man glory in his riches,'' but ''he that 
'glorieth, let him glory in the Lord.'' 

Notwithstanding this, there are many per- 
sons who, even in matters of religion, do 
not always place the highest estimate on 
that which is the most essential. The Jews 
valued themselves on circumcision — on be- 
ing Abraham's seed — heirs to the promises. 
The false teachers referred to in this epistle, 
prided themselves on "a fair show in the 
flesh" — a zealous observance of the exter- 
nal forms of religion, while they manifested 
but little regard for true piety. But the 



30 Pulpit Echoes. 

Apostle Paul disclaims all this and says, 
'' God forbid that I should glory, save in the 
cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, by whom 
the world is crucified unto me and I unto 
the world/' 

I. Let us contemplate, in the first place, 
the cross of Christ as the object of the 
apostle's glorying. 

There was much, in the estimation of the 
world, in which the apostle might have glo- 
ried — his descent, his literary acquirements, 
his office, his labors, his success, his reputa- 
tion. He was formed to take part in any 
great and noble enterprise. Yet, notwith- 
standing this, he counted all as nothing, com- 
pared with Christ and his cross. He de- 
clares, "Yea, doubtless, and I count all things 
but loss for the excellency of the knowledge 
of Christ Jesus my Lord.'' 

The apostle never gloried in his 7iational 
privileges. He was a Jew by birth — a "He- 
brew of the Hebrews," "to whom pertained 
the adoption, and the glory, and the cove- 
nants." He might have said, like many of 
his brethren, " I have Abraham for my father. 
I am not a dark and unenlightened heathen, 
but one of God's chosen people, and have 



Glorying in the Cross. 31 

been admitted into covenant with him by 
circumcision ; I am far better than the ig- 
norant and despised Gentiles/' But such 
words of vainglory as these never fell from his 
lips. Never for a single moment did he 
glory in any thing of this kind. 

He never gloried in his hiowledge. He 
possessed great natural powers of mind, which 
were highly cultivated and improved. He 
had received the highest literary culture in the 
University of Tarsus, the principal seat of 
learning at that time in Asia, and was after- ' 
ward instructed in theology by -Gamaliel, a 
learned doctor of the law in Jerusalem, under 
whose care he enjoyed every facility which 
his nation could afford for the religious im- 
provement of his mind. He was acquainted 
with Jewish and heathen literature, and could 
quote with equal facility from the Hebrew 
Scriptures or the heathen poets. He was 
equally at home in Jerusalem, contending 
with the doctors of the law, or in Athens, 
in the midst of the Areopagus, disputing with 
the Epicureans and Stoics. He could argue 
successfully with infidels at Corinth, or Phari- 
sees at Jerusalem, or self-righteous men at 
Galatia. He was equally gifted with his pen. 



32 Ptdpit Echoes, 

His writings in his own day were pronounced 
"weighty and powerful/' and they are con- 
sidered so still. He was also endowed with 
supernatural gifts, and favored with divine 
visions. He had been " caught up to the 
third heaven/' and had heard ''unspeakable 
words which it was not lawful for man to 
utter.'' He had received the spirit of proph- 
ecy, and was enabled to foretell things to 
come. But, notwithstanding his natural gifts 
and supernatural endowments, he never glo- 
ried in them, as if they could justify him 
before God. 

He never gloried in his graces. He not 
only possessed eminent gifts, but also emi- 
nent graces. If ever there was a man who 
abounded in graces, it was the Apostle Paul. 
His heart was full of love. The love of 
Christ constrained him. This was the great 
impelling principle that prompted him in all his 
labors. His humility was equally conspicu- 
ous. He counted himself ''less than the least 
of all saints," and " the chief of sinners." 
He was also a man of great self-denial, and 
was often in hunger and thirst, in cold and 
nakedness, in watchings and fastings. He 
was frequent in prayer, and his heart also 



Glorying in the Cross. 33 

went out in thanksgiving. He stood forth 
firm as a rock in defense of the truth. Hu- 
man greatness could not appall him, and the 
prospect of suffering could not deter him. 
He cared not whom he opposed when truth 
was at stake. He cared not what risks he 
ran when souls were to be won. But he 
never gloried in his graces. He never val- 
ued himself on their possession. He never 
for a moment rested the hope of his soul 
upon them. 

He never gloried in his works. No man, 
perhaps, ever labored so much for God. He 
was more abundant in labors than any other 
of the apostles. No man, perhaps, under 
similar circumstances ever preached so much, 
traveled so much, and endured so many 
hardships for Christ's sake ; no man was 
ever instrumental in converting so many 
souls, in doing so much good to the world, 
and in making himself so useful to man- 
kind ; no father of the Church, no reformer, 
no minister, no layman, no one man can 
ever be named, who did so many good 
works, and made himself such a blessing to 
his race, as the Apostle Paul. His power- 
ful influence has been felt in every period 



34 Pulpit Echoes. 

of the Church since his day, and it is still 
felt in enlightening, strengthening, and com- 
forting the people of God, and in drawing 
men nearer to the cross of Christ But he 
never gloried in his works as possessing 
any merit. That which was gain to him he 
counted loss. Renouncing all self-righteous- 
ness, he exclaims, " God forbid that I should 
glory, save in the cross of our Lord Jesus 
Christ." 

-. The term '' cross '' is used in the New 
Testament in three different senses. First, 
it is used literally, to denote the instrument 
of torture on which the Savior died. Sec- 
ondly, it is used metaphorically, to denote the 
trials and afflictions consequent upon a pro- 
fession of the religion of Christ. And, thirdly, 
it is used metonymically, for the Gospel, or 
the doctrines of the Gospel, or of Christ who 
suffered on the cross. It is in this latter 
sense the term is used in the text, and in 
this sense the apostle gloried in the cross. 

In the estimation of the world there was 
nothing in the cross in which any man might 
glory. The doctrine of " Christ crucified " 
was to the Jews a stumbling-block, and to 
the Greeks foolishness. But, notwithstanding 



Glorying in the Cross. 35 

this, the apostle declares, " I am not ashamed 
of the Gospel of Christ/' And why was he 
not ashamed of it? "Because,'' he adds, *'it 
is the power of God unto salvation to every 
one that believeth; to the Jew first, and also 
to the Greek." Here we have the great 
reason why the apostle was not ashamed 
of the Gospel — the doctrine of the cross — 
but gloried in it — its divine and saving power. 
Every system of religion, both true and 
false, recognizes the misery and helplessness 
of man, and proposes its own plan for the 
amelioration of the condition of our fallen 
race. But only in the doctrines of the cross 
can we find a complete remedy for the evils 
which sin has inflicted on the world. The 
Jewish religion, however valuable its moral 
influence, considered independent of its re- 
lation to the cross, was powerless for spir- 
itual good. It was mainly a system of types 
and shadows, rites and ceremonies, all point- 
ing to the cross, and deriving their virtue 
and efficacy from it. Detached from the 
cross, they became meaningless and absurd. 
Heathen philosophy and pagan superstitions 
were destitute of all spiritually elevating and 
saving power. ''The world by wisdom knew 



36 Pulpit Echoes, 

not God." And this is its condition to the 
present hour. It is guilty, corrupt, degraded, 
wretched, and dying. The doctrines of the 
cross, however, are fully adapted to its con- 
dition. 

The world is guilty. All men have sinned 
and come short of the divine glory. They 
have wickedly departed from God, trans- 
gressed his law, and justly incurred his dis- 
pleasure. "There is none righteous, no, 
not one.'' The whole world stands guilty 
and condemned before God. But through 
the cross pardon is freely offered to every 
returning, repentant sinner. Atonement has 
been made. The great sacrifice for sin has 
been offered, and God can now be just, and 
yet the justifier of all them that believe in 
Jesus. The year of jubilee — the year of 
release — is come. The royal proclamation • is 
sounded forth — pardon for rebels — forgiveness 
by the cross. Pointing to Jesus, the apos- 
tle declares, '' Through this man is preached 
unto you the forgiveness of sins: and by 
him all that believe are justified from all 
things from which they could not be justi- 
fied by the law of Moses." As an ambas- 



Glorying in the Cross. 37 

sador of Jesus, standing beneath the cross, 
he offers pardon in his name. 

The world is corrupt. It is a great moral 
lazar-house, filled with every form of spirit- 
ual disease and defilement. Moral impurity 
naturally reigns in the soul. But by the cross 
a fountain has been opened ''in the house 
of King David for sin and uncleanness.'' 
To this spiritual Bethesda, whose waters are 
always troubled, the most polluted soul may 
come, wash, and be clean. The Ethiopian 
can not change his skin, nor the leopard its 
spots, but " the blood of Jesus Christ cleans- 
eth from all sin.'' " Though your sins be 
as scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; 
though they be red like crimson, they shall 
be as wool.'' Here you may wash your 
robes and make them white in the blood of 
the Lamb. Here is the fountain of life, whose 
waters are freely flowing — flowing for you 
and for me. From the cross goes forth the 
purifying influence of heaven. 

The world is degraded. Men by guilt and 
impurity are sunk in the scale of moral be- 
ing. The fine gold has become dim ; the 
glory has departed. But the cross is ele- 
vating in its influence. Its attraction is heav- 



38 Pulpit Echoes. 

enward. It presents to the mind the highest 
objects of pursuit, inspires the soul with most 
lofty purposes, and influences the life by 
the most noble motives. It teaches its vo- 
taries to become godlike, and Avith its teach- 
ings it transforms them by its power. The 
cross is the moral lever to elevate the world, 
and raise men to immortal happiness and 
glory. 

^' The cross on which the Savior died, 
Will lift us to the skies.'' 

*The world is miserable. Sorrow is the fruit 
of sin. Sin is everywhere, and its fruits 
are beheld in tears and blood. But where 
may comfort be found ? Where may conso- 
lation be obtained? Only in the cross. It 
offers ''a sovereign balm for every wound, a 
cordial for every fear." Here the troubled 
conscience may find rest ; here the heart 
may obtain peace with God ; here hope may 
spring up in the soul. . It has comforted' 
many a troubled heart, and caused many a 
desert to rejoice. It will yet turn the wail- 
ings of earth into songs of praise, and the 
sighings of earth into the raptures of heaven. 
Oh ye sorrowing ones, gather around the 



Glorying in the Cross. 39 

cross, and it will conduct you to the bliss 
and glory of the throne ! 

The world is perishing and dying. The 
wailings of death are around us. Genera- 
tion after generation, friends, loved ones, en- 
deared companions, little prattlers, idols of 
affection, are passing away — fading, dying. 
Turning away from the cross, darkness gath- 
ers over the tomb, and the future is en- 
shrouded in impenetrable mystery. Life has 
no hope, and man has no future. But turn- 
ing to the cross, we behold life and immor- 
tality brought to light in the Gospel. The 
tomb is lighted up ; the dark valley of the 
shadow of death is illuminated; and the future 
world opens in glory on our view, revealing 
the forms of the redeemed, crowned with im- 
mortality. 

If the cross can thus save the world — save 
me — I will glory in it. It is what you need, 
it is what I need, and it is what the world 
needs. Then let the Jews in their blindness 
stumble, and the Greeks in their worldly 
wisdom laugh, yet " God forbid that I should 
glory, save in the cross of our Lord Jesus 
Christ." 

II. Let us now briefly notice the power of 



40 Pulpit Echoes. 

the cross In subduing the world, and trans- 
forming the affections — ''by whom the world 
is crucified unto me, and I unto the world/' 

Through the power of the cross the world 
loses its sinful charms to the Christian, as 
the body, when life is extinct, becomes loath- 
some, and is no longer attractive. So, in the 
presence of the cross, the perishing and un- 
satisfying things of the world appear light- 
er than vanity. Their fascination is broken;- 
their true character is discovered ; and, com- 
pared with the glories of the cross, they ap- 
pear as empty toys, designed merely for the 
moment to gratify and please. Grasping the 
true scepter the charms of mock royalty 
are despised. So the Christian, having been 
made a partaker of the true riches, discov- 
ers the comparative worthlessness of earth's 
transitory joys. 

By the same power the apostle was cru- 
cified unto the world. While the world lost 
its attractiveness to him, he, like a dying 
man, lost his desire for the things of the 
world. We may indeed become dead to the 
world by the mere failure of our natural 
powers, by age, or sickness, or from disap- 
pointment. This, however, is a mere physical 



Glorying in the Cross. 41 

change. It does not destroy the disposition, 
but merely the ability to enjoy gratification 
in earthly things. But Paul's crucifixion to 
the world was not a want of ability to enjoy 
the things of the world, but a want of dis- 
position to seek his happiness in the world. 
It was a less light totally obscured by a 
far greater — a little joy swallowed up by one 
unspeakable and full of glory. 

The cross crucifies our love of the world, 
our anxious care about the world, and our 
sinful delight in it. The more deeply we 
enter into the doctrines of the cross, the 
more dead will we become to all but Christ. 
Our experience will be that of the apostle, 
'' I am crucified with Christ : nevertheless I 
live ; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me : and 
the life I now live in the flesh I live by 
the faith of the Son of God, who loved me, 
and gave himself for me.'' "They that are 
Christ's have crucified the flesh with the af- 
fections and lusts." 

Let us, then, gather around the cross. 

Let us get nearer the Crucified One. Let 

us reckon ourselves "to be dead indeed unto 

sin, but alive unto God through Jesus Christ 

our Lord." 

4 



42 Pulpit Echoes, 

The wonders of the cross have fixed the 
admiring gaze of angels, who desire to look 
into the mystery of redeeming love. And 
shall it not thrill our hearts, who have been 
redeemed by blood, with inexpressible joy 
and rapture ! While the perishing things of 
earth are passing away, let us cling to the 
cross as our only trust, our only hope, and 
it will transform, elevate, and save us. 

'^Here's my claim, and here alone; 
None a Savior more can need; 
Deeds of righteousness I've none; 
Not a work that I can plead; 
Not a glimpse of hope for me — 
Only in Gethsemane." 



Then, 



'Forbid it, Lord, that I should boast, 
Save in the cross of Christ, my God : 
All the vain things that charm me most, 
I sacrifice them to his blood.'' 



Grace and Glory. 43 



III. 

GRACE AND GLORY, 

^^ For the Lord God is a sun and shield: the Lord will give grace 
and glory ; no good thing will he withhold from them that walk tip- 
rightly ^ Psalm Ixxxiv: II. 

IN this passage we have presented for 
our consideration the character of the 
upright, what the Lord is to such, and 
what the Lord will do for such. 

The characters of men are generally de- 
termined by their conduct. '' He that cloeth 
righteousness," says the Apostle John, '' is 
righteous. He that committeth sin is of the 
devil ; for the devil sinneth from the begin- 
ning." He that performs righteous actions, 
thereby either acquires or maintains a right- 
eous character; but he that performs wicked 
actions, thereby either acquires or maintains 
a bad or wicked character. 

Actions are judged of by their moral 
qualities, as objects in nature are judged of 
by their natural properties. 



44 Pulpit Echoes. 

The actions of men can only be consid- 
ered good or evil, by reference to some 
rule or law of conduct, either established in 
our nature or communicated to us by our 
Creator, by which their moral quality is de- 
termined. If there were no rule or law of 
conduct established by our Creator, all ac- 
tions would partake of the same nature, and 
would be entirely indifferent in their char- 
acter. In the absence of attraction or grav- 
ity, bodies would have no weight; and in 
the absence of any law regulating moral 
conduct, actions would have no character. 

God, in our creation, established a law in 
our nature for the regulation of our con- 
duct, and he has since, in the economy of 
his grace, revealed to us a more perfect 
law, adapted to our present circumstances 
and condition* His revealed law in no par- 
ticular contradicts the law in our nature, but 
in many respects transcends it. It embraces 
all that is contained in the law in our na- 
ture, and much more, adapted to man's con- 
dition as a fallen creature. It must be ob- 
vious to every reflecting mind, that a law 
perfectly adapted to man's condition, while in 
a state of innocence, would not be adapted 



Grace and Glory, 45 

to his proper government in his lapsed and 
fallen condition. Hence the necessity of an 
additional law, adapted to the government 
of man in his changed condition and circum- 
stances ; and hence, also, the necessity of 
a divine revelation, as the only means by 
which such a law could be given. 

The revealed law of God, being the most 
perfect, is the standard by which the moral 
quality of our actions is determined and our 
conduct regulated. This law consists of two 
parts. The first embraces our duty toward 
God, that we love, reverence, and obey him. 
In these respects it harmonizes with the law 
in our nature, and is sanctioned by what is 
denominated ''natural religion,'' or the relig- 
ion of reason. It is perfectly natural and 
proper for men to love their benefactors, 
and also to admire and love that which is 
in itself attractive and lovely. That man 
would be regarded as a monster of ingrati- 
tude, who would cultivate any other feeling 
than that of affection for his benefactor, who 
anticipates all his wants and bestows upon 
him every comfort. Equally monstrous would 
that man appear who would despise that 
which is in itself attractive and lovely, and 



46 Ptilpit Echoes. 

admire and love that which is repulsive and 
loathsome. 

God is the most benevolent being in the 
universe. '' In him we live, and move, and 
have our being.'' His hand supplies our daily 
returning wants. Every good and ''perfect 
gift is from above, and cometh down from 
the Father of lights, with whom is no va- 
riableness, neither shadow of turning.'' He 
" crowneth the year with his goodness, and 
all his paths drop fatness." But it is in the 
work of his redeeming mercy that his great- 
est goodness appears, and the richest bless- 
ings of his grace are realized. 

" 'T is here he makes his goodness known, 
In its divinest form." 

The gift of his Son, the dispensation of 
his Spirit, the revelation of his will, the ex- 
ercise of his forbearance and long-suffering, 
and the offer of eternal life, so freely pre- 
sented to us, attest in the clearest and 
strongest possible manner the infinite be- 
nevolence of the divine character. 

The divine conduct is in harmony with 
the divine nature, and is the result of the 
divine goodness. God is infinitely pure and 



Grace and Glory. 47 

holy, just and merciful, kind and compas- 
sionate, gracious and forgiving. The Apos- 
tle John, summing up the whole in a single 
utterance, declares, "God is love/' 

If the conduct of our heavenly Father, 
then, be supremely benevolent, and his char- 
acter supremely lovely, reason, as well as 
divine revelation, requires that he should be 
supremely loved — that we should love him 
above every other being in the universe. 
Thus reason and revelation clearly harmon- 
ize in their teachings, 

God is also the most exalted and glorious 
being in the universe. He is the Creator 
of all things, the preserver and upholder of 
universal nature. All worlds and all orders 
of beings are dependent on him for their 
existence and for their continual support. 
While this is the case, we are required, both 
by reason and revelation, to reverence him 
above every other being — above all beings — 
to stand in awe of him, revere his authority, 
and hallow his name. 

While we are entirely dependent upon 
God for life and every temporal and spir- 
itual blessing, it is manifest that we are 
under the strongest obligations, not only to 



48 Pulpit Echoes, 

love and reverence, but also to obey him. 
His claims are perfect ; they are paramount 
to every other; and our obligations are cor- 
respondingly great. Obedience to God is, 
therefore, our imperative duty. 

Love, reverence, and obedience to God 
may be regarded, then, as embracing all that 
is required in the first grand division of the 
divine law. 

The second division of this law embraces 
our duty toward our fellow-men, and con- 
sists of two parts, that we do justly and love 
mercy. 

Justice has its foundation in right. Noth- 
ing can be just that is not right. Right and 
obligation are reciprocal. Wherever there is 
a right on the part of one individual, there 
exists a corresponding obligation on the part 
of others. If one man has a right to life, 
all other men are under a corresponding 
obligation not to endanger or take away his 
life. If one man has a right to his liberty, 
all other men are under a corresponding 
obligation not to deprive or restrain him 
of his liberty. If one man has a right to 
pursue happiness, all other men are under 
a corresponding obligation not to obstruct 



Grace and Glory. 49 

him In its pursuit. The right to life, to 
liberty, and to the pursuit of happiness are 
denominated natural and inalienable rights, 
because they inhere in our nature and can 
not innocently be renounced. No man can 
innocently, and at pleasure, renounce his right 
to life, to liberty, and to happiness. It is only 
by the commission of crime that these rights 
can be forfeited. 

In addition to these, men possess acquired 
rights. 'A man by rendering service to an- 
other, according to mutual agreement, ac- 
quires a right to compensation. By render- 
ing an equivalent, in a similar manner, he 
acquires a right to property. These rights 
are perfect in their kind, and while they ex- 
ist can not innocently be disregarded. Rights 
of this class, however, may be alienated. A 
man may innocently, if he see fit, relinquish 
his right to a compensation for service ren- 
dered ; or he may, for a consideration, or 
even without a consideration, transfer his 
right to a certain piece of property to an- 
other, if in so doing he does not disregard 
his obligations to other parties. But until 
these rights are voluntarily relinquished, or 

5 



50 Pulpit Echoes. 

transferred to others, they must be sacredly- 
regarded. 

Moral honesty, or uprightness, consists in 
recognizing both the natural and acquired 
rights of our fellow-men, and discharging the 
corresponding obligations which rest upon us. 
This is justice ; and this God requires be- 
tween man and man. Xo man who disre- 
gards the claims of justice can be regarded 
as an upright man. 

This, however, does not constitute the 
whole of our duty. Beyond this there is 
a wide held presented for the exercise of 
mercy. ^Nlercy oversteps the bounds of jus- 
tice, and manifests itself in giving to the 
needy and in forgiving the guilty, where jus- 
tice can present no demands. Nothing can 
be regarded as an act of mercy that can 
be demanded, as a right, on the ground of 
justice. Where the claims of justice end, 
there the province of mercy begins. In such 
a world of want and wickedness as this, oh 
what a vast field is presented for the exer- 
cise of mercy ! In this respect, as well as 
in ever}' other, Jesus has set us an example 
that we should walk in his steps. He went 
about doing good, feeding the hungry, cloth- 



Grace and Glory. 51 

ing the naked, healing the diseased, instruct- 
ing the ignorant, and pouring the balm of 
divine consolation into the hearts of the 
afflicted and sorrowing. The upright man 
loves mercy, and, like his divine Master, goes 
about doing go'od, both to the souls and the 
bodies of men. The law of kindness is in 
his heart. He sympathizes with the sorrow- 
ing and distressed. Wherever he has an 
opportunity, and possesses the ability, he dis- 
perses abroad, he gives to the poor. He is 
a faithful steward of the manifold gifts of 
God. If he can not remove the burdens of 
the oppressed, he endeavors, by his words 
of comfort and cheer, to encourage and 
strengthen them to endure. He seeks to in- 
struct the ignorant and endeavors to reclaim 
the erring. He loves even his enemies, and 
does good to them that despitefully use and 
persecute him. The love of Christ con- 
strains him, and, acting under its influence, 
his pathway is radiant with the brightness 
and beauty of those acts of kindness and 
love, by which he seeks to restore the wan- 
derer and comfort the disconsolate and for- 
lorn. 

Such a character as this is not the out- 



52 Pulpit Echoes. 

growth of the natural impulses of the hu- 
man heart. Its foundation is laid deeper and 
firmer than this. It results from the regen- 
erating, sanctifying, and sustaining grace of 
God. This is the secret spring of love to 
God and love to man — the source of true 
piety and benevolence. Hence it is only in 
those who have been led to Christ, and who 
by faith in him have realized the justifying, 
renewing, sanctifying, and saving power of 
his Spirit and grace, that w-e witness this 
conformity in life to the requirements of the 
great law of love. Tru.e love to man re- 
sults from sincere love to God. This, how- 
ever, is not natural to the human heart, but 
is the gracious fruit of the transforming in- 
fluence of the Holy Ghost in the renewal of 
our nature. It is here, and here only, that 
we find the solid foundation on which up- 
riorhtness of heart and life before God can 
rest. He that builds on this foundation 
builds surely, and may justly lay claim to the 
character of an upright man. 

The upright are truly blessed. They seek 
their supreme happiness in God, and he is 
the source of their joy and hope. This truth 
is here clearly presented by the Psalmist. He 



Grace and Glory. 53 

declares that the Lord is a sun and shield to 
them that walk uprightly. 

These figures are impressive. The sun is 
the great center of attraction and glory in the 
solar system. Every planet in our system is 
attracted by him, and revolves about him in its 
respective orbit. So God is the great cen- 
ter of moral attraction and glory to every 
upright man. He beholds in him every moral 
perfection and excellency — all that is attrac- 
tive and lovely, and all that is essential to 
satisfy the longing desires of the soul. He 
can truthfully say, in addressing the Most 
High, 

'^Thou art the sea of love, 

Where all my pleasures roll, 
The circle where my passions move. 
The center of my soul.'' 

The ungodly are attracted by the pleas- 
ures, emoluments, and honors of the world, 
which are unsubstantial, inconstant, and un- 
satisfying. The language of their hearts is, 
''Who will show us any good" — any visible, 
sensible good. But the upright man is at- 
tracted by the perfections and glories of the 
divine character, and is constantly approach- 



54 Pulpit Echoes. 

ing nearer and nearer to the great fountain 
of true happiness and bHss. The earnest de- 
sire of his heart is : 

"Nearer, my God, to Thee, 

Nearer to Thee; 
Even though it be a cross, 

That raiseth me, 
Still all my song shall be, 
Nearer, my God, to Thee, 

Nearer to thee!'' 

The sun is the great source of illuinina' 
Hon and joy to the world. His beams dis- 
pel the gloom and drive the night away. 
With what joy does the weary travele-r, who 
has groped his way in darkness, during a 
long and dreary night, hail the sun's return- 
ing beams. Dr. Hays has graphically de- 
scribed the return of the sun in the arctic 
regions, after long months of cold and dark- 
ness : " For several days the golden flush 
deepens, until the burning forehead of the 
*king of day' rises above the horizon to cir- 
cle round it for half the year." He says 
the inexpressible delight with which the morn- 
ing glory is hailed, is almost enough to make 
one cease to wonder that the sun has been 



Grace and Glory. '55 

regarded in many countries as an object of 
devout worship. 

God is the great source of spiritual illu- 
mination and joy to his people. He is their 
light and their salvation. He causes light 
to arise in the darkness. He dispels their 
gloom and shines upon them with healing 
in his beams. He causes their pathway to 
shine brighter and brighter unto the perfect 
day. Oh how delightful to walk all day in 
the liMit of his countenance ! There are 
spots on the sun, but " God is light, and in 
him is no darkness at all.'' His people walk 
in the light, as he is in the light, and the 
"blood of Jesus Christ his Son cleanseth 
them from all sin.'' 

The sun is also the great cause oi fruit- 
fubtess to the earth. Were his quickening 
and enlivening beams withdrawn, barrenness 
and gloom would soon overspread the world. 
It is the sun that constitutes the earth a 
region of light, heat, and life, instead of a 
dark, dreary, and silent desert. No fruit can 
be brought to perfection in the shade. It 
requires the light, heat, and vivifying power 
of the sun in order to its full development 
and maturity. 



56 Ptdpit Echoes. 

In like manner God is the great cause 
of spiritual fruitfulness to the upright in 
heart. His Spirit quickens them into new- 
ness of life, and his grace causes them to 
bring forth fruit to his glory — to be fruitful 
in every good word and work. If his gra- 
cious influence were withdrawn every plant 
of grace in the heart would wither, and droop, 
and die, and barrenness would fill the soul. 

While God draws his people to himself, 
enlightens them by his Spirit and truth, and 
quickens them by his grace, he also protects 
and defends them by his power. Hence it is 
declared that he is their shield. 

A shield was a piece of defensive armor 
worn by the ancients, to protect them from 
the darts of the enemy, and when properly 
used must be pierced through before its 
bearer could be injured. God is the upright 
man's defense. He interposes as a shield 
between him and his enemies, and unless 
Omnipotence fail, he is perfectly secure. ''No 
weapon formed against the righteous shall 
prosper.'' '' The angel of the Lord encamp- 
eth round about them that fear him, and de- 
livereth them.'' ''As the mountains are round 
Jerusalem, so the Lord is round about his 



Grace and Glory, 57 

people from henceforth even forever/' Such 
are some of the precious assurances of God's 
word ; and although heaven and earth shall 
pass away, one jot or tittle that hath pro- 
ceeded out of the mouth of God shall not 
fail of fulfillment. He is a present and con- 
stant help, and none of them that trust in 
him shall be put to confusion. Men may 
combine against them, and Satan may op- 
pose them with his fiery darts, but God will 
be their defense, and will '' compass them 
with his favor as with a shield.'' 

As another evidence of the blessedness of 
the upright, we have here presented what 
the Lord will do for them. It is declared, 
in general, that no good thing will he with- 
hold from them. This is in harmony with 
the declaration of the apostle, that "all 
things work together for good to them that 
love God, to them who are called according 
to his purpose." Indeed, we may rest assured 
that nothing shall be permitted to befall the 
upright, whether it be prosperity or adver- 
sity, sickness or health, ease or pain, life or 
death, but what shall tend to the promotion 
of their ultimate good. 

We are here assured, however, in particu- 



58 Pzdpit Echoes. 

lar, that he will give them grace. This he 
has already given them, or else they never 
could have attained to uprightness of char- 
acter before him. But as the apostle ex- 
presses it, he will give them ''more grace'' — 
grace to enable them to perform the duties 
of life — to live to his glory. They often 
have many difficult duties to perform, and, 
like Moses of old, they feel their weakness 
and insufficiency ; but the divine assurance 
is, that as their day so shall their strength 
be. God never enjoins a duty without giv- 
ing grace to perform it. With the command 
to stretch forth the withered hand, the power 
to do so was imparted. And so in every 
other case. 

God will also give them persevering grace 
— grace to support them amid the trials and 
conflicts of life, and enable them to endure 
unto the end. Oh how many trials they are 
called upon to endure, how many conflicts 
to pass through ! But God declares that his 
grace shall be sufficient. " Fear thou not, 
for I am with thee ; be not dismayed, for I 
am thy God." " Neither death, nor life, nor 
angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor 
things present, nor things to come, shall be 



Grace and Glory. 59 

able to separate us from the love of God, 
which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.'' 

God will give them dying grace — grace 
to support them in their last great conflict. 
Friends may go with us through life, but 
they can not journey with us through the 
dark valley. But to the upright man there 
ariseth light in the darkness, and he can 
exclaim, '^ Though I walk through the valley 
of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil : for 
thou art with me; thy rod and thy staff 
they comfort me.'' He that strengthens his 
people to perform the duties and endure 
the trials of life, will not forsake them in 
the swellings of Jordan. His grace will still 
be sufficient. This has ever been the ex- 
perience of his people. The truly upright 
man, when he comes down to the gate of 
death, will find that death has lost his sting 
and the grave its terrors. 

*'A preacher having been sent for to visit 
a Western cottage, found a father and his 
dying daughter, surrounded by evidences of 
luxury and taste. He asked the daughter 
if she knew her condition. ' I know that 
my Redeemer liveth,' said she, in a voice 
whose melody was like the sweetest Eolian 



6o Pulpit Echoes. 

tones. A half-hour passed, and she spoke 
in the same deep, rich, melodious voice : 
' Father, I am cold ; lie down beside me/ 
And the old man lay down by his dying 
child ; and she twined her emaciated arms 
around his neck, and murmured in a dreamy 
voice, ' Dear father, dear father/ ' My child/ 
said the old man, ' doth the flood seem 
deep to thee?' * Nay, father, for my soul is 
strong/ ' Seest thou the thither shore?' 'I 
see it, father ; and its banks are green with 
immortal verdure/ ' Hearest thou the voices 
of the inhabitants ? ' 'I hear them, father, as 
the voices of angels falling from afar in the 
still and solemn night-time ; and they call 
me. Her voice, too, father ! Oh I heard it 
then.' 'Doth she speak to thee?' 'She 
speaketh in tones most heavenly.' ' Doth 
she smile?' 'An angel smile; but a cold, 
calm smile. But I am cold, cold, cold ! Fa- 
ther, there 's a mist in the room. You '11 be 
lonely, lonely. Is this death, father?' 'It is 
death, Mar)\' ' Thank God.' So she passed 
away/' Thus, 

^^ Jesus can make a dying bed 

Feel soft as downy pillows are, 



Grace and Glory. - 6i 

While on his breast I lean my head, 
And breathe my life out sweetly there." 

To consummate the bliss of the upright, 
God will give them glory. This is the crown 
of grace. Grace will sustain them amid the 
conflicts of life, conduct them to the Pres- 
ence and the throne, and glory will cfbwn 
them forever. Transformed into the divine 
image, favored with the vision of divine 
glory, and satisfied with the divine enjoy- 
ment, they shall be transported with rapture 
and delight. But who can comprehend the 
fullness of that glory ! The apostle attempts 
to grasp it, but after he has stretched his im- 
agination to its utmost extent, he shrinks 
back and declares, that it is "a far more ex- 
ceeding and eternal weight of glory.'' Eye 
hath not seen, ear hath not heard, neither 
hath it entered into the heart of man the 
things which God hath prepared for them 
that love him. Robes and palms, mansions 
and thrones, kingdoms and crowns, joyous 
greetings and songs of rapture, await the re- 
deemed on the other shore ! Oh what shouts 
of victory, what anthems of joy, will thrill 
the hearts of the redeemed and saved ! 



62 • • Pulpit Echoes. 

"What rush of hallelujahs 

Fills all the earth and sky! 
What ringing of a thousand harps, 
Bespeaks the triumph nigh! 

"Then eyes with joy shall sparkle, 
That brimmed with tears of late; 
Orphans no longer fatherless. 
Nor widows desolate/' 

" There, hand in hand, firm linked at last, 
And heart to heart enfolded all, 
We '11 smile upon the troubled past. 
And wonder why we wept at all." 



Christ's First Miracle. (>'>) 



IV. 

CHRIST'S FIRST MIRACLE. 

^^And the third day there was a marriage in Cana of Galilee ; and 
the mother of Jesus was there, ^'' etc. John ii : i-i I. 

THIS passage contains an account of 
a great miracle performed by Christ. 
It was his first miracle, or at least 
the first which he performed openly before 
the people. Tlie evangelist in recording it 
observes the regular chronological order of 
events, and informs us that it was on the 
third day after Christ had come into Galilee 
and called Philip and Nathaniel to be his 
disciples. The place where this miracle was 
performed was Cana of Galilee, a small and 
inconsiderable village, about three hours' ride 
from Nazareth. It is not mentioned, at least 
by this name, in the Old Testament. The 
occasion on which the miracle was performed 
was a marriage-feast, at which the mother 
of Jesus, together with himself and the dis- 



64 Ptdpit Echoes. 

ciples which he had at that time called, were 
present. It is generally supposed that one 
or both of the parties to the marriage were 
akin to Christ. Indeed, some suppose that 
the marriage took place at what was then 
the home of Mary, as it is said she was 
there, while Christ and his disciples were 
'' called,'' or invited. No mention is made of 
Joseph, and it is conjectured that he was 
then dead, and the fact that Christ, about 
three years after this, when on the cross, 
consigned his mother to the care of John, 
the beloved disciple, seems to strengthen 
this conjecture. The immediate cause of the 
miracle was the want of wine, which at that 
time was deemed indispensable on such oc- 
casions. The failure of the wine, and the 
appeal made by Mary to Christ, indicate 
the poverty of the parties and their inability 
to obtain an additional supply. Here we see 
that Christ was not only poor, but also the 
companion of the poor. The manner in 
w^hich the miracle was performed was pecul- 
iar and striking. The water-pots at his com- 
mand were filled with water, but he per- 
formed no outward act, either by word or 
touch, by which the water was transmuted 



Chrisfs First Miracle. 65 

into wine. The change was effected by a sim- 
ple exercise of his volition. He willed it to 
be so, and it was so. I do not know that we 
have an account of any other miracle which 
he performed in a similar manner. 

Much has been said in reference to Christ 
performing a miracle in creating wine on 
this occasion, and many have drawn from 
this fact an argument in favor of the use 
of intoxicating beverages. The facts in the 
case will not, however, warrant such a con- 
clusion. There is no evidence that the wine 
which Christ created on this occasion pos- 
sessed any intoxicating principle. It is evi- 
dent, from the remarks of the ruler of the 
feast, that it was different from what they had 
been using, and far superior in its quality. 
There is as much reason to believe that it 
was sweet wine, representing the pure and 
unfermented juice of the grape, as to suppose 
that, it was a fermented and intoxicating 
liquor. Indeed, if we consider the miracle 
in connection with the subsequent teachings 
of Christ and his apostles on the subject 
of temperance, the presumption that he did 
not create an intoxicating beverage is very 
strong. 



66 Pulpit Echoes. 

This passage suggests several important 
considerations in reference to Christ. 

I. We have presented his social character. 
*' Both Jesus was called, and his disciples, to 
the marriage." 

Christ was not a recluse. He did not 
withdraw himself from the society of men, 
but freely associated with them, not only in 
the midst of sadness and sorrow, but also 
on occasions of festivity and joy. His first 
miracle, as we have seen, was performed 
at a marriage-feast, and in order, at least in 
part, to contribute to the comfort and en- 
joyment of those who were present. On 
various occasions he was the guest of pub- 
licans and sinners, and partook of their hos- 
pitality. We read of Levi making him a 
great feast at his house, and of many pub- 
licans and others who sat down with him. 
But although Christ sojourned among men, 
and freely mingled with them in the social 
intercourse of life, yet he did not partake 
of their sins. He showed his sympathy and 
fellow-feeling for them without approving of 
or indulging in any of their vices. 

True religion was never intended to make 
men unsocial and melancholy. On the con- 



d 



Christ's First Miracle. 67 

trary, it is intended to increase our interest 
in each other, and promote our real hap- 
piness and joy. God gave us a social na- 
ture, and he has given us a social religion 
adapted to our nature. While we should 
unquestionably have nothing to do with races, 
and balls, and theaters, and all other simi- 
lar amusements which tend to frivolity and 
sin, we have no right to hand over inno- 
cent recreations and social enjoyments to 
the world and Satan. No one has greater 
cause of cheerfulness and joy than the Chris- 
tian. But for him to withdraw himself from 
the society of his fellow-men, and assume 
the appearance of sadness and melancholy, 
instead of commending his religion to oth- 
ers, and giving him an influence over them 
for good, would produce the very opposite 
effect. It would repel instead of attract men 
to Christ. A cheerful and kindly spirit, and 
an ability to participate in the innocent en- 
joyments of society, is a gift of inestimable 
value, which often softens prejudice and 
serves as a commendation of reli^fion. Christ 
came eating and drinking, and mingling with 
men in all the social and innocent enjoy- 
ments of life. And happy is he who, like 



68 Pulpit Echoes. 

his Master, can use tliese innocent enjoyments 
without abusing them. 

A word of caution in this connection, how- 
ever, is not inappropriate. The extent to 
which we may indulge in social enjoyments 
and recreations is a question of much diffi- 
culty and delicacy. In no case, perhaps, is 
it harder to fix upon the golden mean be- 
tween that which is proper on the one hand 
and that which is improper on the other — 
between that in which we may innocently 
indulge and that from which we should scru- 
pulously refrain, than in this. It has been 
said, very truly, that '' it is hard to be merry 
and wise." Excessive indulgence, even in 
lawful pleasures, should carefully be avoided. 
It requires no little wisdom to enable us to 
determine the limit to which we may law- 
fully go. In every case of doubt we should 
carefully avoid entering upon questionable 
ground, and always keep ourselves within 
the bounds of absolute propriety. When we 
visit places of social festivity and joy, let 
us do it in the spirit of our Master, and let 
us never go where we think he would not 
go. This will restrain us from improper 
assemblies and from improper indulgences. 



Christ's First Miracle. 69 

What would you think of Christ at a danc- 
ing-party? at the theater? at a base- ball 
club ? at a horse-race ? or at many other 
places that might be named? The idea 
seems absurd and revolting. Where the 
Master, then, would not go, the disciples 
should not venture. 

II. Another important truth presented in 
this passage, in reference to Christ, is the 
absolute power which he exercises over na- 
ture. 

Science has given to man, in many re- 
spects, great power over nature, in control- 
ling and utilizing its forces. We see this 
illustrated in the use of steam. By the ap- 
plication of heat, water is reduced to steam, 
and its expansive force, by a variety of skill- 
ful appliances, is employed in driving all 
kinds of machinery in the mechanical and 
manufacturing arts, and in propelling vessels 
on oceans, lakes and rivers, and locomotives 
in every direction on the land, in carrying on 
the commerce of the world. Electricity, as 
well as steam, has been rendered subservient 
to the purposes of man, and made to flash 
intelligence on wings of fire across conti- 
nents and oceans almost with the rapidity of 



70 Pulpit Echoes, 

thought. And so, in a great variety of in- 
stances, man is enabled to control and direct 
the forces of nature. But this is done ac- 
cording to the regularly established laws of 
nature, one natural force being brought to 
bear upon another, in order to produce the 
result desired. In all these instances the 
various forces exist in nature, and are only 
discovered and applied by human ingenuity. 
But Christ possesses a power above na- 
ture — a power that can control nature in a 
manner contrary to her established laws. He 
has only to speak, to look, to will, and nature 
obeys his behest, and the work is accom- 
plished. In the case before us, there is no 
intimation given that any outward, visible 
means were employed to turn the water into 
wine. It was not an effect produced by the 
use of means, but an effect produced with- 
out means, by a direct application of divine 
power. We read of no prophet or apostle 
who ever performed a miracle in this way. 
He who could perform such a wonderful 
work, and in such a manner, could be noth- 
ing less than God. This miracle, properly 
attested, had Christ never performed another, 
would be sufficient to prove him Divine. 



Christ's First Miracle. 71 

What a cheering truth to know that our 
blessed Savior, in whom we trust, is all power- 
ful, and that nothing can resist his will. 

III. I observe again, that his resources 
are equal to his infinite kindness. 

The kindness of men's hearts, notwith- 
standing their many imperfections, is often 
greater than their means. Their sympathies 
are often excited where they are powerless to 
render aid. This appears to have been the 
case in the instance before us. The parties 
who made the entertainment were no doubt 
anxious to suitably provide for the comfort 
of their guests, but their means appear to 
have failed. This was no doubt a source of 
mortification to them. Their desires greatly 
exceeded their ability. This is generally the 
case with men. Their resources are limited, 
and their means are soon exhausted. 

But this is not the case with Christ. 
While his compassion is infinite, his resourc- 
es are unbounded. He never wills without 
being able to perform. What he would ac- 
complish he has the power to effect. The 
mother of Jesus said, ''They have no wine." 
But it shall never be said of Jesus that his 
resources are exhausted: ''for it hath pleased 



72 Pulpit Echoes. 

the Father that in him should all fullness 
dwell." " In him are hid all the treasures 
of wisdom and knowledge/' We have not 
a want that he can not supply. There is 
not a blessing that he can not bestow. 

^^Here bring your wounded heart, here tell your anguish, 
Earth has no sorrow that heaven can not heal." 

IV. Another truth here presented is that 
Christ requires every man to perform his 
duty — do what he can. 

Jesus said unto them, '' Fill the water-pots 
with water. And they filled them up to the 
brim.'' He could have filled the water-pots 
with wine Without their having been filled 
with water had he so desired, or he could 
have filled them with water, had he chosen 
to do so, as easily as he turned the .water 
into wine. But while he would impress us 
with his divine power upon the one hand, 
he would teach us the necessity of perform- 
ing our duty on the other. That which we 
can do for ourselves, we have no right to 
expect God, by a divine interposition, to do 
for us. The servants could not turn the 
water into wine, but they could fill the water- 



Christ's First Miracle. 73 

pots with water, and having done what they 
could, Christ performed the rest. It would 
seem that the miracle was conditioned on 
the filling of the water-pots. But however 
this may be, we are certain that the bestow- 
ment of the divine blessing depends on obe- 
dience to the divine requirements. If we 
would secure the blessing of Christ, we must 
do the will of Christ. He declares, '' If ye 
know these things, happy are ye if ye do 
them." Having done our duty — having com- 
plied with the divine command — we may confi- 
dently trust in Christ, that he will do for us 
all that is essential to our true happiness 
and salvation — that he will "do exceeding 
abundantly above all that we can ask or 
think," according to the riches of his grace. 
But if we do not perform our duty, we have 
no right to expect the divine interposition 
in our behalf. Let us fix this truth in our 
minds, and ever act upon it, and whatsoever 
he saith unto us, that let us do, leaving re- 
sults with him, and we may rest assured 
that all will be well. 

V. I observe, finally, that Christ by his 
\^orks manifested his real character. 

"This beginning of miracles did Jesus in 

7 



74 Pulpit Echoes. 

Cana of Galilee, and manifested forth his 
glory ; and his disciples believed on him/' 
Actions, it has justly been remarked, speak 
louder than words, and present a more com- 
plete manifestation of character. It has been 
truly said of Christ, " Never man spake like 
this man.'' His doctrines were sublime. But 
he refers rather to his works than to his 
words, as affording a demonstration of the 
divinity of his character. Hence he declares, 
''The works which the Father hath given me 
to finish, the same works that I do, bear 
witness of me, that the Father hath sent 
me.'' We are told in the text that in the per- 
formance of his very first miracle he " mani- 
fested forth his glory." Christ placed a high 
estimate on works. He said on one occa- 
sion, '' My Father worketh hitherto, and I 
work." Work is the measure of a man's abil- 
ity and the true index to his character. Any 
man can talk, but not every man can per- 
form. Profession is easy, but performance is 
more difficult. It is easy to form good pur- 
poses, but not so easy to execute them. 
We have an account of the acts of the apos- 
tles, but no account of their resolutions. The 
former were deemed worthy of record ; but 



Christ's First Miracle. 75 

the latter were considered of no consequence, 
only as they were carried out in action. All 
noble principles manifest themselves in works. 
All men of renown are renowned for their 
deeds. The glory of character is present- 
ed in the grandeur of achievement. The 
world, in carrying out its vast enterprises, 
demands work. Mere theorists, who specu- 
late and dream, are not the men who pro- 
mote the interests of society, develop its re- 
sources, and secure its highest prosperity. 
It requires men of resolution, of energy, of 
action, in every department of business, to 
insure success. So it is in the Church. The 
Church, in order to accomplish its glorious 
mission and fulfill the grand and benevolent 
design of its great Founder, demands action 
and zeal upon the part of all its members. 
Every Christian has something to do for God 
— something to do in order to promote the 
glory of God and the salvation of souls. 
Christ says to every man, and especially to 
every Christian man, " Go work to-day in 
my vineyard.'' There is no time for loiter- 
ing — no time for idleness when there is so 
much to do. Christ, by the works which he 
performed, '' manifested forth his glory.'' Let 



"j^ Pulpit Echoes. 

us show our faith by our works. Let us 
not only be hearers of the word, but also 
doers of the work. Let us be admonished 
to ''work while it is called to-day, for the 
night cometh when no man can work." 



The Apostles' Report. 77 



V. 



THE APOSTLES' REPORT. 

^^And being let go, they went to their own company , and repoHed all 
that the chief priests and elders had said unto them. And when they 
heard that, they lifted up their voice to God with one accord^'' etc. Acts 
iv: 23-31. 

RELYING merely upon human support 
in the cause of Christ, the stoutest 
heart will quail and the strongest arm 
become feeble ; but trusting in divine aid, 
the most timid will become courageous, and 
the most feeble instrument will become 
"mighty through God to the pulling down of 
strongholds/' Fully aware of this important 
truth, Christ commanded his disciples to tarry 
at Jerusalem until they should be " endued 
with power from on high." 

The necessity and importance of this di- 
vine qualification are clearly illustrated in the 
character and conduct of Peter. He was 
naturally bold and courageous, but when left 
to himself he trembled before a feeble ser- 



78 Pulpit Echoes. 

vant-maid, and basely denied his Master. But 
after he had received the baptism of the 
Holy Ghost on the day of Pentecost, he was 
"bold to take up, and firm to sustain the 
consecrated cross/' No danger could intimi- 
date him, and no threatening could deter 
him from the discharge of his duty and the 
faithful prosecution of his glorious work.. 
Nor were these characteristics peculiar to the 
Apostle Peter; they were possessed by the 
other apostles also. The passage before us 
affords sufficient evidence of this fact. 

On the occasion referred to in the text, 
Peter and John had performed a notable 
miracle, *in healing a man lame from his birth, 
at the beautiful gate of the temple. This 
produced a great excitement, and gathered 
around them a multitude of people. Peter 
embraced the opportunity thus afforded and 
preached unto them Jesus and the resurrec- 
tion. This soon attracted the attention of the 
priests, the captain of the temple, and the 
Sadducees, who came upon them, and cast 
them into prison until the next day, when 
they were brought forth by the high priest, 
and scribes, and elders, and rulers of the 
people. But such was the boldness of Peter 



The Apostles' Report. 79 

and John in defending the truth and in charg- 
ing upon their accusers the death, unjustly 
inflicted, of the Son of God, that "they mar- 
veled; and they took knowledge of them, that 
they had been with Jesus/' But the evidence 
of the miracle was so clear, attested by the 
presence of the man who had been cured, 
and the favorable impression produced on 
the minds of the people in reference to 
the apostles was so great, that the rulers 
feared to inflict any further punishment upon 
them. Accordingly, after counseling together, 
they " commanded the apostles not to speak 
at all, nor teach in the name of Jesus/' To 
this charge Peter and John boldly replied, 
"Whether it be right to hearken unto you, 
more than unto God, judge ye. For we can 
not but speak the things which we have 
seen and heard. So when they had further 
threatened them, they let them go.'' "And 
being let go, they went to their own com- 
pany, and reported all that the chief priests 
and elders had said unto them." 

I. Let us notice the apostles' return to 
their brethren. 

God had greatly honored them. He had 
acknowledged them as his servants, and per- 



8o Pulpit Echoes. 

formed a notable miracle by their hands. 
The individual on whom the miracle of heal- 
ing had been performed was no doubt well 
known, for he occupied a public place at 
the beautiful gate of the temple, where he 
was carried daily to ask for alms. His con- 
dition was a most helpless one. He was 
not a cripple by accident, but was such 
from his birth. His limbs were paralyzed 
and destitute of strength. No human skill 
could afford him relief These facts were 
well known. But notwithstanding the nature 
and long continuance of his disease, the apos- 
tles, without the use of any material or ex- 
ternal means, commanded him, in the name 
of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, to rise up and 
walk ; and with the command power to obey 
it was imparted. "And immediately his feet 
and ankle bones received strength. And he, 
leaping up, stood, and walked, and entered 
with them into the temple, walking, and leap- 
ing, and praising God." The reality of the 
miracle could not be called in question, for 
*'all: the -people saw him walking and praising 
God : and they knew that it was he which 
sat at the beautiful gate of the temple : and 
they were filled with wonder and amazement 



The Apostles' Report. 8i 

at that which had happened unto him/' This 
was a Hteral fulfillment of the prophecy of 
Isaiah, that, "the lame man should leap as a 
hart/' By the performance of this miracle, 
by the hands of the apostles, God had highly 
honored them, and given them favor in the 
eye of the people. 

Their enemies had severely threatened them. 
Embracing the opportunity afforded by the 
assembling of the people together, on the 
occasion of the miracle of healing, Peter de- 
livered an impressive discourse, in which he 
presented Jesus as the true Messiah, charged 
them with killing the Prince of Life, and 
exhorted them to repent and be converted, 
that their sins might be blotted out. This 
was peculiarly distasteful to the priests and 
the rulers of the people, and they came upon 
them, and cast them into prison until the 
next day, when they were brought forth, ex- 
amined, reprimanded, severely threatened, and 
commanded to speak no more in the name 
of Jesus. A much more severe punishment 
would no doubt have been inflicted upon 
them, had it not been for the favorable im- 
pression which they had made on 'the minds 
of the people, for that indeed a notable mira- 



82 Pulpit Echoes. 

cle had been performed by them they could 
not deny. 

They maintamed their affection for their 
brethren. *'And being let go, they returned 
to their own company." The conduct of the 
apostles affords a striking illustration of the 
sincerity and strength of Christian attach- 
ment. Honor could not make them forget, 
and danger could not induce them to for- 
sake their brethren. Worldly honor often 
causes men to forget their most intimate 
acquaintances ; and danger causes men to 
abandon those who have the strongest claims 
to their regard and protection. But the Chris- 
tian man returns from the post of honor, or 
from the scene of danger, to the compan- 
ionship of his brethren, and they take sweet 
counsel together. Christian affection unites 
us together in the most endeared relation- 
ship. It makes us companions in joy and 
sorrow, and enables us to rejoice together 
as heirs of the same inheritance. As Chris- 
tians we should not forget nor forsake our 
own company ; but we should cultivate that 
sincere attachment to our brethren which 
nothing can destroy. 

II. The account they gave of what had 



The Apostles' Report. 83 

transpired. They "reported all that the chief 
priests and elders had said unto them/* 

The reason why they did this was, per- 
haps, first, that their brethren might know 
what they had to expect from men, in the 
way of opposition, and what they might ex- 
pect from God, in the way of support. Christ, 
before his crucifixion, had endeavored to pre- 
pare the minds of his disciples for the op- 
position which he knew they would be called 
upon to encounter, and had informed them 
that in the world they should have tribula- 
tion. But he also assured them that he 
would be with them, in his spiritual presence, 
unto the end, and that he would send them 
the Comforter, the Spirit of Truth, and that 
he would abide with them forever. They 
had, nevertheless, been very slow in compre- 
hending the full import and meaning of the 
Savior's teachings. The recent experience 
of Peter and John, however, afforded both 
a confirmation and illustration of his words ; 
and they therefore reported all that had taken 
place to their brethren, that they might fully 
understand what awaited them, in prosecuting 
their great commission, in making known 
the truth as it is in Jesus. They were not 



84 Piclpit Echoes, 

of the world ; therefore the world hated them. 
But while they maintained their fidelit}^ to 
Christ, he either delivered them out of trial, 
or sustained them under it. Such is still the 
case. The disciples of Jesus may expect op- 
position from earth but support from heaven. 
In the world they shall have tribulation, but 
in Christ they shall have peace. If called to 
pass through a furnace of fire, '' one like unto 
the Son of God" will walk with them in the 
midst of the flames. 

The apostles reported all that had taken 
place, secondly, that it might be recorded 

in the histor\' of the Church for the encour- 

• 

agement of others. The facts which they 
related afforded evidence of the truth of 
the doctrines which they taught. The re- 
ality of the miracle which they performed 
could not be called in question. The chief 
priests and rulers did not attempt to deny 
it. But when they demanded of the apos- 
tles '' by what power, or by what name they 
had done this,'' Peter answered, '' Be it known 
unto you all, and to all the people of Israel, 
that by the name of Jesus Christ of Naz- 
areth, whom ye crucified, whom God raised 
from the dead, even bv him doth this man 



The Apostles' Report 85 

stand here before you whole/' The conclu- 
sion was irresistible. If the lame man had 
been healed in the name and by the power 
of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, he could not 
be a dead, but a living Christ; and if he 
were then living, he must have been raised 
from the dead, for they, by wicked hands, 
had crucified and slain him. The fact of the 
miracle, and the conclusion which the apos- 
tles drew from it, could not be gainsayed. 
They could not deny the one nor refute the 
other. Although they threatened the apos- 
tles, they were not permitted further to harm 
them. These facts were reported and re- 
corded for our encouragement and the con- 
firmation of our faith, and they afford a con- 
vincing argument of the certainty of the 
resurrection of Christ, and, consequently, of 
the truth of the doctrines which he taught. 

The apostles returned to their own com- 
pany, and reported what had taken place, 
thirdly, that they might all join together in 
prayer and praise to God. Nothing can be 
more appropriate than this, either after the 
endurance of great trials or the enjoyment 
of great blessings. To whom should we re- 
sort for assistance in time of trial but unto 



S6 Pulpit Echoes. 

God ? And to whom should we render praise 
for dehverance from trial but to hirn whose 
fatherly care is continually exercised over us? 
Prayer and praise are never inappropriate. 
By this means ever)' dispensation of Divine 
Providence is improved, and ever}' grace of 
the Spirit in our hearts is strengthened and 
increased, and God is glorified. 

III. I notice their address to God on this 
occasion. When they had heard the state- 
ment of Peter and John, "they lifted up their 
voice to God with one accord." 

In their united and solemn address to 
God, they adored him as the Q^eator of all 
things, ''Thou art God, which hast made 
heaven and earth." Even redemption could 
not make them forget creation. In one they 
beheld the displays of divine love : in the 
other the displays of divine wisdom and 
power. They felt interested in both. In the 
hour of their deep trial it was a source of 
unspeakable comfort to them to remember 
that the arm on which they leaned was 
clothed with almight}' power. While their 
enemies vented their impotent rage, they re- 
joiced that the God who created the heaven 
and the earth was their support; and in the 



The Apostles Report. 87 

very beginning of their address they cele- 
brated his wisdom and his power. This is a 
source of unspeakable comfort to all Chris- 
tian hearts. They know that he that is for 
them is more than all that can be against 
them. They can adopt the language of the 
Psalmist and say, "Though an host should 
encamp against me, my heart shall not fear: 
though war should rise against me, in this 
will I be confident.'' " For in the time of 
trouble he shall hide me in his pavilion : in 
the secret of his tabernacle shall he hide me ; 
he shall set me up upon a rock." 

"Though thickest dangers crowd my way, 
My God can chase my fears away; 
My steadfast heart on him relies, 
And all those dangers still defies." 

In their address to God they recalled the 
prediction of the Psalmist, in -which he fore- 
told the opposition that should exist to Christ 
and his kingdom. "Why," said he, 'Mo the 
heathen rage, and the people imagine a vain 
thing ? The kings of the earth set them- 
selves, and the rulers take counsel together, 
against the Lord, and against his anointed." 
Here, the rage of the heathen, the vain im- 



88 Pulpit Echoes. 

aginations of the people, the opposition of 
kings, and the united counsel of the rulers 
against Christ, are clearly pointed out. This 
prediction they regarded as having already 
begun to receive its fulfillment. The Shep- 
herd had been smitten, and the sheep are now 
about to be scattered abroad. '' Of a truth,'' 
said they, "against thy holy child Jesus, whom 
thou hast anointed, both Herod and Pontius 
Pilate, with the Gentiles and the people of 
Israel, were gathered together.'' This reflec- 
tion reconciled them to their lot, and they 
prayed in a spirit of resignation. The trials 
through which they were called to pass were 
only such as they had a right naturally to 
expect. Christ had said, " If they have per- 
secuted me, they will also persecute you." 
"The disciple is not' above his master, nor 
the servant above his lord." This is still 
true. This world is not a friend to grace. 
All Christians should remember this, and not 
"think it strange concerning the fiery trial 
that is to try them, but rejoice in that they 
are partakers of Christ's suffering, that when 
his glory shall be revealed, they may be glad 
also with exceeding joy." 

Their petitions to God, in view of their] 



The Apostles' Report. 89 

circumstances, were appropriate. First, they 
prayed that God would take cognizance of 
their enemies. "And now. Lord, behold their 
threatenings/' What a terror to the wicked, 
and what a consolation to the righteous, to 
know that God sees them. Every act of 
wickedness that the ungodly man commits 
is committed beneath the eye of God. He 
sees and knows every act of opposition to 
his cause and to his people. If wicked men 
could only realize this fact, it would fill them 
with consternation and dread. But there is, 
perhaps, more intended here than simple, di- 
vine cognition. We are informed that God 
looked on the host of the Egyptians through 
the pillar of fire and of cloud, and troubled 
and overthrew them in the Red Sea. And 
the apostles perhaps here besought God to 
look upon their persecutors in such a way 
as to overthrow their designs and frustrate 
their purposes of wickedness. God can ea- 
sily do this ; and when it is necessary for the 
promotion of his glory, he will arrest and 
confound the workers of iniquity. Second- 
ly, they prayed that God would strengthen 
them and nerve them up to continue in 
their work, '' that with all boldness they might 



90 Pulpit Echoes. 

speak his word." Whether God restrained 
their enemies or not, they desired to con- 
tinue in his service, and faithfully to perform 
their duty. They did not ask, now that they 
were surrounded with danger, and called 
upon to encounter great difficulties, to be per- 
mitted to retire from the conflict; but they 
prayed for strength according to their day, 
that if their danger and trials should con- 
tinue, or even increase, they might stand up 
boldly for Jesus, and defend the honor of 
his cause. We have here an example for 
our imitation. We should not seek exemp- 
tion from duty, hpwever difficult, or even dan- 
gerous, it may be, but like the apostles we 
should seek divine assistance to perform it 
faithfully in the trying hour. Thirdly, they 
prayed that God would accompany his word, 
which they preached, with divine power, by 
stretching forth his hand to heal, and that 
signs and wonders might be done " in the 
name of the holy child Jesus.'' They desired 
to be so qualified that they might preach 
the word "in demonstration of the Spirit and 
of power,'' that the faith of those who re- 
ceived the Gospel might ''not stand in the 
wisdom of men, but in the power of God." 



The Apostles Report. 91 

The gifts of healing which God bestowed 
upon the apostles, and the signs and won- 
ders which he performed by their hands, af- 
forded a demonstration of his presence with 
them, and of the truth of the doctrines which 
they taught. The power to heal both soul 
and body comes from God ; and although the 
gift of outward healing has been withdrawn 
from the Church, yet the important soul- 
healing power of the Spirit is continued to 
this day. The conversion of every sinner is 
a miracle of grace and a demonstration of 
divine and saving power. Nothing so en- 
courages the hearts of ministers, and of the 
people of God, as such tokens of divine 
approval in the salvation of souls ; and for 
nothing should they unite their prayers more 
earnestly at a throne of grace than for this. 

IV. God's gracious answer to their prayers. 
Their petitions were -not in vain. 

God, in answer to their prayers, gave them 
another evidence of his favor, and wrought 
another wonder in their midst. He shook the 
place where they were assembled, thereby 
showing them how easily he could shake their 
enemies, and overthrow their purposes of 
opposition. He that shook the place where 



92 Pulpit EcJioes. 

his servants prayed, can cause the stoutest 
heart to tremble beneath the power of his 
word and Spirit. This was but a prelude to 
the future manifestation of the power of God 
in the Gospel, by which he should shake the 
nations, and '' turn the Avorld upside down." 
As Paul, upon a subsequent occasion, rea- 
soned of righteousness, temperance, and judg- 
ment to come, Felix felt the power of di- 
vine truth and trembled before him. We 
should not be satisfied until, in answer to 
our united prayers, we see a '' shaking among 
the dr)' bones." 

God filled tJiem all anezu with the Holy 
Ghost. They had been filled before, on the 
day of Pentecost, yet they needed to be filled 
again. They had kept their lamps burning 
before men, and now God gives the fresh 
oil in their vessels. We are taught to pray 
for our daily bread ; so must we daily seek 
the renewing of the Holy Spirit. Our souls 
need to be nourished and strengthened from 
day to day with spiritual food as much as 
our bodies need to be strengthened by nat- 
ural food. Yesterday's supply of our physi- 
cal need will not answer for to-day ; nor 
will past spiritual blessings meet the present 



The Apostles Report. 93 

wants and necessities of the soul. It is our 
privilege to be renewed from day to day in 
the spirit of our minds. While God gives 
us the outward manifestation of his presence, 
we should seek to enjoy the inward power of 
his grace. God is faithful who has promised, 
and if we call on him, as the apostles did, he 
will fill us, as he filled thein, with the Holy 
Ghost. Let us not be satisfied with any thing 
else. This is the ancient promise which God 
made to his people, that he would pour out 
his Spirit upon them. And this is the great 
blessing which Christ promised to his dis- 
ciples, the gift of the Holy Ghost — the Di- 
vine Comforter — to abide with them for- 
ever. If we are thus endued with power 
from on high, we shall be enabled to bear 
a faithful testimony for God, and stand up 
boldly for Jesus, in the face of every oppo- 
sition. 

" Oh for the living flame, 

From his own altar brought, 
To touch our lips, our minds inspire, 
And wing to heaven our thought.'* 

Let us learn from this subject, first, to 
maintain the fellowship of saints — to adhere to 



94 Ptclpit Echoes. 

our own company. Whether it be In joy or 
sorrow, prosperity or adversity, there is no 
society so well adapted to our tastes, or so 
well calculated to promote our interests, if 
we are sincerely desirous to serve God, as 
the society of our Christian brethren. Many 
a man by forsaking his own company — his 
brethren in Christ — has been led to forsake 
God, and has made shipwreck of faith. 

^' Together let us sweetly live, 
Together let us die/' 

Let us learn, secondly, in all our trials to 
call on God, Let us do this individually, and 
let us do it socially, and lift up our voice 
unto God, assured that he will hear us, 
and answer us according to the riches of his 
grace. All our help must come from him. 

We may rest assured, thirdly, that in an- 
swer to prayer God will strengthen tcs to do 
and to suffer. He has promised the Holy 
Spirit to them that ask him. Strengthened 
by his Spirit, we shall be enabled in all things 
to do his will. 



The Waters of Marah. 95 



VI. 



THE WATERS OF MARAH. 

^^And when they came to Marah ^ they could not drink of the waters of 
Marah ^ for they were bitter: therefore the name of it was called Marah, 
And the people murmured against Moses ^ sayings What shall we drink? 
And he cried unto the Lord, and the Lord showed him a tree, which when 
he had cast into the waters, the waters were made sweet. '''^ Exodus xv: 
23-2S. 

THE bondage of the children of Israel 
in Egypt, their deliverance from the 
yoke of the oppressor, their sojourn 
in the wilderness, with its conflicts, trials, and 
victories, and their final settlement in the land 
of promise, are frequently employed, and very 
appropriately, too, to represent our bondage 
to sin, our deliverance by grace, our trials 
and conflicts through life, and our final en- 
trance into eternal rest. There are many 
incidents in the history of God's ancient peo- 
ple well calculated to afford us important les- 
sons of instruction. The one recorded in the 
text is of this character. 



g6 Pulpit Echoes. 

The destroying angel had gone through- 
out the land of Egypt, and smitten the first- 
born of the Egyptians, both of man and of 
beast. In every house there was one dead. 
Filled with fear and consternation, Pharaoh 
had given commandment for the Israelites 
to depart. Accordingly they journeyed from 
Rameses, by the way of the wilderness, to 
the border of the Red Sea, and encamped 
at a place called Pi-hahiroth, the exact lo- 
cality of which is now unknown. But Pha- 
raoh, having recovered from his alarm, and 
having repented his act in letting the peo- 
ple go, pursued after them with a mighty 
host of chariots, and horsemen, and people, 
and overtook them in their encampment by 
the sea. The condition of the Israelites was 
apparently one of great peril ; but God gra- 
ciously interposed in their behalf, and miracu- 
lously opened up for them a passage through 
the Red Sea, while Pharaoh and his host, 
essaying to follow them, were overthrown and 
perished in its waters. 

After this glorious deliverance, Moses and 
the children of Israel sang a song of lofty 
praise to God, in which they celebrated his 
power in their deliverance, and in the over- 



The Waters of Mar ah. 97 

throw of their enemies. And Miriam, the 
sister of Moses and Aaron, with a timbrel, 
responded in a thrilhng chorus, and led the 
women in dances and in song, saying, '' Sing 
ye to the Lord, for he hath triumphed glo- 
riously; the horse and his rider hath he 
thrown into the sea/' The dancing of Mir- 
iam was not such as is now indulged in for 
pleasure, for she was then more than ninety 
years old ; but such as we sometimes wit- 
ness when God graciously blesses his people, 
and they leap for joy. 

The Red Sea, through which the chil- 
dren of Israel passed, is about eight hundred 
miles in length and about two hundred in 
width at the widest part. Toward the north 
it divides into two gulfs, which at their ex- 
tremities are about two hundred miles apart. 
The western of these is the Gulf of Suez, 
and the eastern the Gulf of Akabah. The 
passage of the Israelites was near the north- 
ern extremity of the Gulf of Suez. The ex- 
act locality, however, is not known. The tri- 
angular tongue of land between the two gulfs, 
which abounds in deserts and mountains, in- 
cluding Sinai and Horeb, was the scene of 

9 



98 Pulpit Echoes. 

the wanderings of the children of Israel for 
nearly forty years. 

From the Red Sea they went three days' 
journey into the wilderness of Shun and 
the people found no water. It was a barren, 
drear}^ desert. And when they came to Marah, 
where there was water, the water was bitter, 
and the people could not drink of it. The 
consequence was, they were greatly discour- 
aged, and murmured against Moses. It ap- 
pears to be natural for people, when any 
great difficulty or disaster occurs in any of 
their enterprises, to com.plain of their lead- 
ers. It was so in this case, and it is generally 
so. But the complaints which the people 
brought to ]\Ioses he carried to the Lord, 
and spread them out before him, and cried 
unto him in his distress. ''And the Lord 
showed him a tree, which when he had cast 
into the waters, the waters were made sweet,'' I 
and the people were enabled to drink of 
them. The Lord can deliver us in the day 
of adversit}', when we trust in him, and hope 
in his mercy. 

This passage suggests for our consideration 
several thoug-hts : 



The Waters of Marah. 99 

I. The common lot. 

The children of Israel in their journeying 
came to Marah, they tasted of its waters, they 
loathed them, and refused to drink. In pass- 
ing through the world, we must all drink of 
the bitter waters of affliction. This is the 
common lot of all. There are no exceptions. 
The cup Is placed to our lips, and however we 
may shrink from it, we must taste of its bit- 
terness. No age, no class, no condition is 
exempted. The young and the old, the rich 
and the poor, the good and the bad, the 
noble and the ignoble, must all taste of life's 
bitterness, and share in life's sorrows. Pain 
and suffering, temptation and trial, disap- 
pointment and sorrow, bereavement and death, 
come to all. Some, it is true, may drink 
deeper of earth's cup of sorrow than others, 
but in passing through this wilderness world 
all must taste of the bitter waters of Marah. 
Where is the family circle that has never 
been broken ? Where is the threshold on 
which there has never fallen a shadow ? 
Where is the heart that has never felt a 
pang of grief? Where is the breast that 
has never been heaved with a sigh? Where 



ICO Pulpit Echoes. 

is the eye that has never been dimmed with 
a tear? How often do we see the smile of 
joy fade from the countenance, and give place 
to an expression of pain ! How often do 
we hear the loud, ringing laugh sink into a 
deep and plaintive moan ! How often do we 
see the brightest hopes dashed to pieces in 
a moment, and the fondest expectation cut 
off forever! Earth has its joys, but it has 
also its sorrows ; it has its pleasures, but 
it has also its pains ; it has its hopes, but it 
has also its fears ; it has its enjoyments, 
but it has also its sufferings. " Every heart 
knoweth its own bitterness, and a stranger 
intermeddleth not therewith/' Sickness and 
sorrow, pain and death, constitute the common 
lot of all. We have suggested, 

II. The common failing. 

When the children of Israel had tasted of 
the waters of Marah, they murmured against 
Moses, and, as a consequence, against God, j 
for Moses was but the instrument which God 
employed to lead forth the people. He him- 
self went before them in a pillar of cloud 
by day, and in a pillar of fire by night, to 
direct them in their journeyings ; and, try- 
ing as were the circumstances which surround- 



The Waters of Marah. loi 

ed them, God himself had placed them where 
they were. Notwithstanding this, they re- 
pined at their lot, and murmured against the 
providence of God. All his past mercies to- 
ward them, in breaking the yoke of the op- 
pressor, and delivering them at the Red Sea, 
appear to have been forgotten, and they were 
filled with complainings and discontent. 

This is a common failing with men, and 
sometimes even with good men. While we 
enjoy life, and health, and comfort, and pros- 
perity, it is easy to cultivate a cheerful dis- 
position. But when sickness, and pain, and 
adversity, and poverty, and suffering, and be- 
reavement, and death come, how much we 
are disposed, like God's ancient people, to 
murmur and complain, and sometimes even 
to call in question the wisdom and goodness 
of God. 

Such conduct is very foolish. All our mur- 
murings and repinings, instead of bettering 
our condition, only render it the more intol- 
erable. God governs the world, and how- 
ever dissatisfied we may be with his admin- 
istration, we can not change any of the 
dispensations of his providence. We can not 
direct the winds and the clouds, nor com- 



102 Pulpit Echoes. 

mand the rain and the snow from heaven, 
nor control the '' pestilence that walketh in 
darkness, and the destruction that wasteth 
at noonday.'' We can not make one hair 
white or black, or by taking thought add one 
cubit to our stature. We can not ward off 
sickness and disease, nor stay the hand of 
death. How foolish, then, to murmur and 
repine at the dispensations of an all -wise 
Providence, who doeth all things after the 
counsels of his own will, and who governs 
in the army of heaven and among the in- 
habitants of the earth ! We may not, it is 
true, be able to comprehend his dealings to- 
ward us, but we may rest assured that they 
are designed for our good, and although for 
the present they are not joyous, but griev- 
ous, yet afterward they shall yield the peace- 
able fruits of righteousness, if we are prop- 
erly exercised thereby. The physician some- 
times gives very bitter medicine, which is 
unpalatable to the taste, but it is designed 
for our good, and is necessary to promote 
our health. Considering this necessit}^ it 
would be foolish for us to murmur and com- 
plain, and reject it because of its bitterness. 
But to murmur against the providence of 



The Waters of Marah. 103 

God is not only foolish, but also sinful. It is 
a direct reflection on his wisdom and good- 
ness. It charges him with folly and cruelty. 
It manifests a spirit of rebellion and oppo- 
sition to his will — a spirit that exalte th itself 
against the Most High. There is nothing 
improper in a desire to be delivered from 
suffering and affliction, provided that desire 
be indulged in resignation to the divine will. 
Christ himself prayed that the cup of bitter- 
ness might pass from him, but added in the 
spirit of complete resignation, " Nevertheless, 
not my will, but thine be done.'' David, when 
his child was sick, fasted and prayed, and re- 
fused to be comforted, because he did not 
know but that it might please God, in an- 
swer to his prayers, to spare the life of his 
child. But when he perceived that the child 
was dead, he arose and washed himself, and 
partook of food, and went into the house of 
God and worshiped. When the will of God 
was clearly manifested, he submitted to it with 
meekness and resignation. To have done 
otherwise would have been to reproach his 
Maker, and rebel against his God. 

But, notwithstanding the folly and sinful- 
ness of murmuring at our lot, it is a common 



I04 Pulpit Echoes. 

failing ; and when the cup of bitterness is 
placed to our lips, we shrink back from it, 
or if compelled to drink it, like the Israelites 
of old, we complain of our lot, and murmur 
against the providence of God. We receive 
blessings at the hand of God, but murmur 
when his chastening hand is laid upon us. 
This passage suggests, 

III. The only true remedy. 

When the people murmured against Moses, 
*' he cried unto the Lord ; and the Lord 
showed him a tree, which when he had cast 
into the waters, the waters were made sweet/' 
What that tree was, and what were its pe- 
culiar properties, we do not know. Various 
conjectures have been entertained upon this 
subject, without arriving at any certainty. All 
we know is, that God used it as a means in 
his hand, for the accomplishment of his pur- 
pose, in sweetening the bitter w^aters. What- 
ever means we may employ, without the 
blessing of God, will be ineffectual, but ac- 
companied by his blessing, the most insignifi- 
cant and apparently inadequate means will 
be sufficient to accomplish the divine purpose. 

Some suppose that the tree w^hich Moses 
cast into the bitter waters to sweeten them 



The Waters of Marak. 105 

was a type of Christ, who is denominated by 
the prophet the Branch. Whether this was 
the case or not, we can not tell. If it was, 
the typical allusion was but faint and obscure. 
The Jews had a tradition that the wood of 
this tree was itself bitter, and yet it sweet- 
ened the waters of Marah. Hence we are 
told that Christ's bitter sufferings and death 
change the character and property of ours. 

But aside from all typical allusion, I think 
the important truth here suggested is, that 
God only can sweeten the bitter waters of life. 
Moses could not sweeten the waters of Marah, 
but in his distress he cried unto God, and he 
effected it by the use of very simple means. 
God is our help. He, and he only, can 
comfort us in the dark hour of trial. When 
difficulties gather around us; when every 
earthly joy is embittered ; when our brightest 
hopes are dashed to pieces, and our fondest 
expectations appear to be cut off, we may in 
our distress, like Moses, come to God, and 
he will hear our cries and impart divine com- 
fort to our souls. There is not an earthly 
sorrow that he can not soothe, and there is 
not a bitter stream of life that his grace can 
not sweeten. 



io6 Pulpit Echoes. 

Are you afflicted? Has the hand of suf- 
fering been laid upon you ? Have you Ex- 
perienced days of pain and nights of weari- 
ness ? Have you been '' full of tossings to 
and fro unto the dawning of the day?" Or, 
have you been tempted and tried? Has the 
adversary of your soul assaulted you with his 
fiery darts ? Has he come in like a flood, 
and endeavored to overwhelm you ? Has he, 
as in the case of Peter of old, sifted you as 
wheat, and endeavored to destroy you ? Has 
a host risen up against you, and endeavored to 
turn you aside from the ways of virtue and of 
God? Have you been called to pass through 
deep waters and fiery trials ? Has your soul 
been tried in the furnace of affliction ? Have 
you, like Daniel, been cast among the lions ? 
Or, has bereavement befallen you ? Have 
you been constrained to exclaim with one of 
old, " Lover and friend hast thou put far from 
me, and mine acquaintance into darkness?'' 
Have tender ties been severed? Have those 
you loved with the fondest affection been 
taken away from you ? Have those sparkling 
eyes, through which the soul once spoke un- 
utterable things, become dim and sightless in 



The Waters of Marah. 107 

death? Has that sweet voice and ringing 
laugh been hushed forever in the silence of 
the grave ? Have you stood by that coffined 
form once so full of life, and health, and ac- 
tivity, but now so pale, and cold, and still, and 
kissed those lips you shall press no more ? 
Oh have you gone down with your loved 
ones into the shadows, beside the still waters, 
almost to the crossings of Jordan, and there, 
in the stillness and gloom, parted with them 
forever? Oh has the cup of bitterness been 
pressed to your lips, and have you been 
drinking of the waters of Marah? Have you 
been afflicted, or tempted, or tried, or be- 
reaved? Has the iron pierced your soul? 
Oh, then, like Moses, cry unto God ; he^ 
and he only, can sweeten the bitter waters of 
life. He can whisper into the very center of 
your soul, " My grace is sufficient for thee,'' 
and, "as thy day, so shall thy strength be/' 
God can give comfort when every earthly 
prop and stay is removed. 

" In life his presence is our aid 

In death 't will guide us through the shade. 
Chase all our rising fears away, 
And turn our darkness into day.'' 



io8 Pulpit Echoes. 

It may be that, like the children of Israel, 
you have been complaining of your lot, and 
murmuring against the providence of God. 
If so, go to God in meekness and resignation, 
cast your burden and care on him, and he 
will sweeten the bitter cup of your affliction. 
Then you will be able to sing: 

" Perishing things of clay, 
Born but for one brief day, 
Pass from my thoughts away: 
Jesus is mine! 

"All that my soul has tried 
Left but a dismal void; 
Jesus has satisfied : 

Jesus is mine." 



The Good Old Way. 109 



VII. 

THE GOOD OLD WAY. 

" Stand ye in the ways, and see, and ask for the old paths, where is the 
good way, and walk therein, and ye shall find rest for your souls, "^^ Jere- 
miah vi: 16. 

THIS language was addressed by the 
Prophet Jeremiah to his countrymen. 
God had selected them from among 
the nations of the earth to be a peculiar 
people to himself. He had promised them 
that if they would walk in his ways, and keep 
his commandments, he would drive out their 
enemies before them, and be their God and 
their defense. But he also assured them 
that if they would walk contrary to him, 
he would walk contrary to them, and would 
scatter them among their enemies and spoil 
their goodly land. But notwithstanding the 
blessings connected with obedience, and the 
curse denounced against transgression, they 
forsook their God, and perverted their ways. 



no Pulpit Echoes. 

This chapter contains a prophecy of the 
invasion of the land of Judea by the Chal- 
dean army, and the desolation, destruction, 
and wretchedness it should occasion. It also 
contains the reasons why God delivered his 
people into the hands of their enemies. They 
had forsaken him, and had become corrupt 
and abominable. He had invited them to re- 
turn to obedience, and, in the language of the 
text, exhorted them to "stand in the ways, and 
see, and ask for the old paths, where is the 
good way, and walk therein.'' But to this, as 
well as all his other entreaties, they turned a 
deaf ear. Wherefore he visited them in his 
wrath, and chastened them in his hot dis- 
pleasure. 

I. We have here presented, in the first 
place, a description of true religion. 

I. It is described as a way. It is fre- 
quently presented to our minds under this 
view in the Scriptures. Christ says, ''Strait 
is the gate, and narrow is the way that lead- 
eth unto life, and few there be that find it.'' 
On a certain occasion the Pharisees sent their 
disciples to Jesus, saying, " Master, we know 
that thou art true, and teachest the way of 
God in truth." The apostle tells us that 



The Good Old Way. iii 

''many shall follow their pernicious ways, by 
reason of which the way of truth shall be 
evil spoken of/' The prophet declares, "A 
highway shall be there, and a way, and it 
shall be called the way of holiness ; the un- 
clean shall not pass over it; but it shall be 
for those : the wayfaring men, though fools, 
shall not err therein/' In all these passages 
religion is variously represented as "the nar- 
row way,'' "the way of God," "the way of 
truth," "the way of holiness;" and it is else- 
where styled, comprehensively, the "way of 
salvation/' 

2. It is described as the good way. Its 
goodness will appear from several considera- 
tions : 

(i.) It is perfectly plain. He that runs 
may read. A wayfaring man, though a fool, 
need not err therein. All the doctrines of 
the religion of our Lord Jesus Christ, which 
relate to man's duty and happiness, are so 
plain that no sincere inquirer after truth need 
err therein, or be mistaken in reference to 
their true import. This is one of the glories 
of Christianity. It is lowered down to the 
capacity and comprehension of every rational 
mind. There are many mysteries, it is true, 



112 Pulpit Echoes. 

connected with our holy religion, which, from 
the very nature of things, must continue to 
exist while we remain in this imperfect state 
of being. Men in this world are not suffi- 
ciently advanced in the scale of intellectual 
being to comprehend a full revelation of the 
divine perfections and the divine purposes, 
even had such a revelation been given. The 
reason of this is found, not so much in the 
mystery of the revelation, as in the limited 
extent of our capacities. It would be as 
absurd to suppose men, in this the infancy 
of their being, capable of fully understand- 
ing such a revelation, as it would be to sup- 
pose a child who has not yet learned its 
letters, capable of understanding and critically 
examining the structure and idiom of a for- 
eign language. The principles of the lan- 
guage may be simple and consistent, but the 
powers of the child have not been sufficiently 
developed to enable him to comprehend them. 
So with the mysteries of Christianity. They 
are such to us, not because of any thing dark 
or inconsistent in their own nature, but be- 
cause of our limited capacities, and the pres- 
ent weakness of our intellectual powers. As 
we advance in intellectual and moral develop- 



1 



The Good Old Way. 113 

ment, these mysteries may, to a great extent, 
come within the range of our comprehension, 
and become perfectly plain to our minds. 
But all that really interests us in this state 
of being, in order to conduct us to a higher 
and better state, is perfectly plain and easy 
of comprehension to the honest, persevering 
inquirer after truth. 

(2.) It is perfectly safe. I do not know 
that any one has ever objected to our holy 
religion because he regarded it as an unsafe 
or dangerous system. Indeed infidels, who 
deny its truth, do, for the most part, admit 
that it is perfectly harmless, and that its prin- 
ciples and precepts, if carried into practice, 
instead of injuring society, would promote the 
best interests of our race. In fact, it pre- 
sents the only safe way for men to pursue. 
If its teachings are true, that we are account- 
able beings ; that there is a judgment to 
come ; that a state of reward or punishment 
awaits us in the future world ; and that Jesus 
Christ is the only Savior of sinners, through 
whom, by faith in his blood, we may obtain 
salvation, then it is not only our duty but also 
our highest interest to receive it, and to re- 
ject it is at the peril of our souls. But if it 



114 Pulpit Echoes. 

is not true, and we are not accountable be- 
ings, and there is no judgment to come, and 
no state of future reward and punishment, 
and no Savior of sinners, then the beUef of 
its truth, though it be false, can not possibly 
injure us, unless it does so in this life, and 
this it is generally admitted it does not; for 
if it be not true there is no accountability 
hereafter. While the rejection of our holy 
religion, then, may be attended with the most 
fearful consequences, its reception can not 
possibly injure us, but may promote our eter- 
nal happiness. It is evident, then, that the 
Christian occupies the vantage-ground. If 
his religion is true, he gains everything ; but 
if it is false, he loses nothing. Such a re- 
ligion is certainly a safe religion. 

(3.) It is pleasant and delightfiiL It is 
said of true wisdom — true religion — that 
'' her ways are ways of pleasantness, and all 
her paths are peace.'' No other system of re- 
ligion has ever afforded such peace and com- 
fort to the minds of men as the religion of 
our Lord Jesus Christ. It imparts a peace 
to the soul which the world can neither give 
nor take away. Its comforting influences have 
been felt under all circumstances and in every 



The Good Old Way. 115 

condition, in health and in sickness, in prosper- 
ity and adversity, among friends and among 
enemies, at home and abroad, in Hfe and in 
death. 

*^It is religion that can give 

Sweetest comfort while we live;' 
It is religion can supply 

Solid comfort when we die." 

A missionary from India relates the expe- 
rience of a native Christian woman whom he 
was called to visit; and her experience is the 
experience of thousands. Inquiring the state 
of her mind, she replied, ''Happy, happy! I 
have Christ here,'' laying her hand on the 
Bengalee Bible, "and Christ here,'' pressing 
it to her heart, ''and Christ there," pointing 
toward heaven. Oh how many Christians can 
sing as they journey along : 

"I^m happy here, and I shall be there 
I'm happy on my journey T' 



re- 



(4.) It conducts tcs to the home of th 
deemed — the land of promise and of rest. It 
lies through the wilderness, but leads to the 
Celestial City, with its walls of jasper, its 
gates of pearl, and its streets of gold. The 



1 1 6 Pidpit Echoes. 

ransomed of the Lord are represented as re- 
turning upon it to Zion, with songs of ever- 
lasting joy upon their heads. There "they 
shall obtain joy and gladness, and sorrow and 
sighing shall flee away/' Oh how many who 
have forsaken the City of Destruction, and 
whose pilgrim feet have trod this shining 
way, have entered in through the gates, and 
rest in peace at home. How sweet the 
thought of home ! " It has proved a seven- 
fold shield to virtue ; the very name of it has 
been a spell to call back the wanderer from 
the paths of vice. And far away, where myr- 
tles bloom and palm-trees wave, and the 
ocean sleeps upon coral strands, to the ex- 
ile's fond fancy it clothes the naked rock, or 
stormy shore, or barren moor, or wild high- 
land mountain, with charms he weeps to think 
of, and longs once more to see. Grace sanc- 
tifies these lovely affections, and imparts a 
sacredness to the homes of earth by making 
them types of heaven." As a home of beau- 
ty and of love, the Christian delights to think 
of heaven as he journeys thitherward. Surely, 
a way that is so plain, so safe, so pleasant, 
and which conducts us to heaven, our home, 
is emphatically a good way. 



The Good Old Way. 117 

3. It is described as the old way. 

God has but one way of saving sinners ; 
and he has been saving sinners in that way 
ever since the redeemed spirit of Abel went 
up from earth to heaven. The great plan of 
human salvation is the same in its essential 
nature under all dispensations. Christ has 
been the object of his people's faith in every 
age. This is the way the patriarchs, and 
prophets, and all the ancient worthies, the 
apostles, and martyrs, and all the redeemed 
who surround the throne of God, went up 
to glory. It is bright with the footprints of 
pilgrim travelers who have journeyed upon 
it to Zion. It is, most assuredly, the good 
old way. 

II. We have, secondly, an exhortation to 
obedience. 

I. We are exhorted to consideration — 
''Stand ye in the ways.'' There are many 
false ways which are calculated to lead us 
astray, and consideration is necessary to enable 
us to discover the right way. The traveler, 
when he arrives at a point where different 
ways diverge, pauses to deliberate, to con- 
sider, that he may discover and pursue the 
proper road. This is but an act of common 



1 1 8 Ptdpit Echoes. 

prudence. Every undertaking, and every pur- 
suit v/hich involves important consequences, 
demands serious consideration. The neglect 
of this, even in temporal matters, often in- 
volves men in utter ruin. 

If this be the case, how important that we 
give due consideration to those subjects which 
involve the eternal interests of our souls. In- 
consideration is the cause of ignorance; ig- 
norance, to a great extent, is the cause of 
sin ; and sin is the cause of the everlasting 
destruction of the sinner. God charges the 
wickedness of his ancient people upon their 
inconsideration. He exclaims, '' Hear, O heav- 
ens, and give ear, O earth, for the Lord hath 
spoken ; I have nourished and brought up 
children, and they have rebelled against me. 
The ox knoweth his owner, and the ass his 
master's crib: but Israel doth not know, my 
people doth not consider." If we would be 
religious, we must act with due consideration, 
and give heed to our ways. 

2. We are exhorted to observation — '' Stand 
ye in the ways and see!' By observing the 
tendency of any system, we are enabled to 
form a pretty correct opinion of its character. 
Christ has given us this criterion by which 



The Good Old Way. 1 1 9 

to judge of men : " By their fruits ye shall 
know them/' And upon the same principle 
the Psalmist exhorts us to "mark the per- 
fect man, and behold the upright, for the 
end of that man is peace/' The systems of . 
religion which men embrace have the most 
powerful influence in forming their characters 
and controlling their lives. By observing the 
influence of the various received systems of 
belief on the lives and characters of men, we 
are enabled to discover that which is good — 
that system which is demonstrated by facts 
to have the greatest tendency to promote vir- 
tuous lives and human happiness. Such a 
course of observation will strengthen our 
faith in our holy Christianity, and teach us 
more fully its importance. Indeed, it is nec- 
essary to qualify us for the proper discharge 
of our Christian duties. No one should go 
blindly through the world. Every man, and 
especially every Christian man, should be a 
man of observation. 

3. We are exhorted to inquiry — ''Ask for 
the old paths.'' Inquiry, in every department 
of life, is necessary to the acquirement of in- 
formation. A man of no inquiry, no research, 
no investigation, will remain ignorant in the 



I20 Pulpit Echoes. 

midst of every facility for the acquirement of 
knowledge. If a man would become ac- 
quainted with his duty, and learn the way of 
life, he must faithfully and diligently inquire 
after it. Christ says : " Search the Scriptures, 
for they are they that testify of me." And 
the Apostle James says: "If any man lack 
wisdom, let him ask of God, who giveth to 
all men liberally, and upbraideth not.'' We 
should apply to every source from which a 
knowledge of our duty may be obtained. 

4. We are exhorted to action — " Walk 
therein.'' That knowledge is comparatively 
worthless that is not carried out, and hence 
is of no practical advantage. We may con- 
sider, we may observe, we may inquire, and 
by this means we may discover the path of 
duty — the good old way — but unless we walk 
therein it will profit us nothing^ We should 
not only become acquainted with our duty, 
but we should perform it. We should not only 
learn the way to heaven, but we should walk 
therein. "Whoso looketh into the perfect 
law of liberty," says the Apostle James, "and 
continueth therein, he being not a forgetful 
hearer, but a doer of the work, this man shall 
be blessed in his deed." We must be doers I 



The Good Old Way. 121 

of the work ; then we shall be blessed, not in 
profession, but in performance — not in our 
words, but in our deeds. 

III. We have presented, thirdly, the bless- 
edness of the truly pious — *'Ye shall find rest 
to your souls.'' 

1 . The soul needs rest, Man has wandered 
from his God — forsaken the fountain of living 
waters, and hewed out to himself cisterns, 
broken cisterns that can hold no water. He 
has pursued phantoms and vanities, and his 
soul is weary and heavy laden. There is no 
true peace and rest for the wicked. They 
are like the troubled sea that can not rest. 

2. All that come to Christ, and walk i7i the 
good old wayy shall find rest to their souls. 
Christ says : " Come unto me, all ye that 
labor and are heavy laden, and I will give 
you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn 
of me ; for I am meek and lowly in heart, 
and ye shall find rest to your souls.'' 

(i.) The understanding shall rest in the 
truth of God — "Ye shall know the truth, and 
the truth shall make you free." "If any man 
will do his will," says Christ, "he shall know 
of the doctrine, whether it be of God." He 
shall have a satisfying demonstration, in his 



n 



122 Pulpit Echoes. 

own personal experience, of the divine truth 
of his religion. 

(2.) The heart shall rest in the love and 
favor of God. All meaner loves, inconsistent 
with supreme love to God, will be cast out, 
and the believing mind will be enabled to 
exclaim, "Whom have I in heaven but thee, 
and there is none upon the earth that I de- 
sire beside thee/' The heart that has wea- 
ried itself in seeking some enduring object of 
affection will find its true rest in God. His 
language will then be : 

"Here rest, my long divided heart, 
On this, thy bUssful center, rest, 
Nor ever from thy Lord depart. 
With him of every good possessed." 

(3.) Finally, the soul shall rest with God in 
heaven. The apostle assures us that "there 
remaineth a rest to the people of God,'' a 
rest where the wicked shall cease to trouble, 
and where sorrow can never come. "The 
pass of Glencore in Scotland is reached by a 
long, steep, and winding path ; but at the top 
is a stone with the inscription, 'Rest and be 
thankful! Such is the pilgrim's path, but at 
its end is heaven/' 



The Good Old Way. 123 

" Rest for the toiling hand, 
Rest for the anxious brow, 
Rest for the weary, way-worn feet, 
Rest from all labor now: 

" Rest for the fevered brain, 
Rest for the throbbing eye; 
Through these parched lips of thine no more 
Shall pass the moan or sigh." 



124 Pulpit Echoes. 



VIII. 

THE KING OF ZION. 

'■^Rejoice greatly^ O daughter of Zion ; shout y O daughter of Je- 
rusalein : behold^ thy King cometh unto thee : he is just, and having 
salvation; lowly , afid riding tipon an ass, and up07t a colt the foal of an 
ass.'^ Zechariah ix: 9. 

THE language of the text was uttered 
more than five hundred years before 
the birth of Christ, yet in the history 
of his Hfe we have, in part at least, a lit- 
eral fulfillment of this sublime and glorious 
prophecy. 

The Jews had long expected the coming 
of their Messiah, and had associated with his 
advent scenes of magnificence and power. 
They looked for a conquering prince and a 
temporal deliverer. But when Christ ap- 
peared, he was meek and lowly, humble and 
unassuming. The pride of a corrupt priest- 
hood and a degraded hierarchy could see no 
form nor comeliness in him, that they should 



The King of Zion. 125 

desire him. They said : " Is not this the car- 
penter's son? Is not his mother called Mary? 
And they were offended in him/' But, al- 
though he was rejected by the rulers and 
those in authority, the common people re- 
ceived him gladly. They were peculiarly 
the objects of his compassion. '' He went 
throughout all Galilee, teaching in their syna- 
gogues, and preaching the Gospel of the king- 
dom." He healed all manner of sickness and 
disease among the people. He cast out dev- 
ils ; he raised the dead ; he opened the eyes 
of the blind ; he unstopped the ears of the 
deaf; he caused the lame man to leap as a 
hart, and the tongue of the dumb to sing. 

On one occasion, impelled by the power 
of his miracles and the benevolence of his 
character, the multitude resolved to take him 
by force and make him a king. But, discard- 
ing all worldly power, he taught them " to 
render unto Caesar the things which are 
Caesar's, and unto God the things that are 
God's." 

Five days before the feast of the Passover, 
at which Christ was crucified, when he drew 
nigh to Jerusalem, he sent two of his dis- 
ciples to a certain village, and, according to 



126 Pulpit Echoes. 

his directions, they brought thence an ass, 
and a colt the foal of an ass, and they put 
on them their clothes, and set him thereon, 
'' and a very great multitude spread their gar- 
ments in the way; others cut down branches 
from the trees, and strewed them in the 
way. And the multitudes that went before, 
and they that followed, cried, saying, Ho- 
sanna to the Son of David. Blessed is he 
that cometh in the name of the Lord: Ho- 
sanna in the highest. And the whole city 
was moved, saying. Who is this? And the 
multitude said, This is Jesus, the prophet of 
Nazareth of Galilee.'' And he went into the 
temple of God, and the little children in the 
temple, with their infant voices, shouted, " Ho- 
sanna to the Son of David.'' "All this was . 
done," says the evangelist, "that it might be 
fulfilled which was spoken by the prophet, 
saying. Tell ye the daughter of Zion, Be- 
hold, thy King cometh unto thee, meek, and 
sitting upon an ass, and a colt the foal of 
an ass." 

"This entry into Jerusalem," says Dr. 
Adam Clarke, "has been termed the triumph 
of Christ. It was indeed the triumph of hu- 
mility over pride and worldly grandeur, of 



II 



The King of Zion. 127 

poverty over affluence, of meekness over rage 
and malice.'' But as a lasting commentary 
on the evanescent nature of worldly applause, 
five days afterward the same multitude cried, 
"Away with him ! away with him ! crucify 
him !" he is not fit to live. 

In the passage before us, we have pre- 
sented for our consideration the office and 
character of Christ. 

I. Let us notice his office. He is denomi- 
nated a king. He is presented to us under 
this view both in the Old and New Testament 
Scriptures. 

I. It was predicted of him that he should 
be a king. Dying Jacob, surrounded by the 
twelve patriarchs, and having the future spread 
out before his mind by the Spirit of Truth, 
declared, " The scepter shall not depart from 
Judah, nor a lawgiver from between his feet, 
until Shiloh come ; and unto him shall the 
gathering of the people be.'' Balaam, be- 
holding in prophetic vision the glory of the 
Messiah and the triumph of his kingdom, de- 
clared, ''There shall come a Star out of Jacob, 
and a Scepter shall rise out of Israel. Out 
of Jacob shall come he that shall have do- 
minion." The prophet Micah, in language as 



128 Pulpit EcJiocs, 

precise and definite as the most direct his- 
toric narrative, declares, '' But thou, Bethlehem 
Ephratah, though thou be little among the 
thousands of Judah, )'et out of thee shall he 
come forth unto me that is to be ruler in 
Israel ; whose croinos forth have been from of 
old, from everlasting." Isaiah, in lofty strains 
of prophetic grandeur, proclaims, '' In that day 
there shall be a root of Jesse, which shall 
stand for an ensign of the people ; to it shall 
the Gentiles seek : and his rest shall be 
glorious/' He declares again, '' Unto us a 
Child is born, unto us a Son is given : and 
the government shall be upon his shoulder: 
and his name shall be called Wonderfirl, 
Counselor, The mighty God, The everlasting 
Father, the Prince of Peace. Of the increase 
of his government and peace there shall be 
no end, upon the throne of David, and upon 
his kingdom, to order it, and to establish it 
with judgment and with justice from hence- 
forth even forever." God himself declares in 
reference to the Messiah, '' I have set my king 
upon my holy hill of Zion." And the Psalm- 
ist, in acknowledgment of his exaltation and 
high supremacy, exclaims, ''Thy throne, O 
God, is forever and ever." 



k 



« 



The King of Zion, 129 

2. These predictions have their fulfillment in 
Christ. They pointed to hirrt, and have their 
accomplishment in him. 

When the period for the fulfillment of 
these ancient prophecies drew near, an angel 
appeared to Mary, and said unto her, fear 
not, for thou shalt ''bring forth a son, and 
shalt call his name Jesu's. He shall be great, 
and shall be called the vSon of the highest: 
and the Lord God shall give unto him the 
throne of his father David : and he shall reign 
over the house of Jacob forever; and of his 
kingdom there shall be no end." In harmony 
with the announcement of the angel, we find 
that "when Jesus was born in Bethlehem of 
Judea in the days of Herod the king, there 
came wise men from the east to Jerusalem, 
saying. Where is he that is born King of the 
Jews ? for we have seen his star in the east, 
and are come to worship him.'' 

Christ claimed to be a king, not, it is true, 
in a worldly and carnal sense, but in a sense 
which harmonized with the great object and 
design of the work which he came to per- 
form. In his divine nature he is the ruler of 
the universe, and his dominion is absolute. 
In this sense he ''hath prepared his throne in 



130 Pulpit Echoes. 

the heavens, and his kingdom ruleth over all/' 
This divine and universal dominion Christ evi- 
dently claimed. As Mediator, he is King of 
saints, and supreme in the Church. The 
apostle assures us that " God hath put all 
things under his feet, and gave him to be 
head over all things to the Church, which is 
his body, the fullness of him that filleth all in 
all.'' Christ is the only authoritative lawgiver 
to his people. That which is not enjoined in 
the Church, in accordance with his authority, 
can not be binding upon his people. This 
authority he claimed, declaring to his dis- 
ciples, " One is your Master, even Christ, and 
all ye are brethren." The acknowledgment 
of his authority, in this respect, we are also 
assured, shall become universal ; for '' at the 
name of Jesus every knee shall bow, of things I 
in heaven, and things in earth, and things \ 
under the earth ; and every tongue confess 
that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God 
the Father." 

In the conduct of Christ, throughout his 
entire ministry, there was a continual presen- 
tation of his regal claims and his rightful do- 
minion. In his last interview with his dis- 
ciples before his crucifixion, he said to them, 



The King of Zion. 131 

" I appoint unto you a kingdom, as my Father 
hath appointed unto me. That ye may eat 
and drink at my table in my kingdom, and sit 
upon thrones judging the twelve tribes of 
Israel/' When arraigned before Pilate, he 
presented the same claim. Pilate said unto 
him: "Art thou the King of the Jews?'' To 
this interrogatory Jesus answered: "To this 
end was I born, and for this cause came I into 
the world, that I might bear witness to the 
truth." Pilate, no doubt guided by an invisi- 
ble hand, inscribed upon the cross of Christ, 
to set forth the crime for which he was con- 
demned, "This is Jesus of Nazareth, the King 
of the Jews," thus unwittingly bearing testi- 
mony to his regal character, and identifying 
forever the cross and the throne. Christ, 
after his resurrection, said to his disciples : 
"All power is given unto me in heaven and in 
earth." Therefore, being sovereign of heaven 
and earth, he commanded his disciples to "go 
into all the world, and preach the Gospel to 
every creature." 

3. Christ, by the works which he performed, 
clearly established his claim to regal authority. 
He afforded sufficient evidence to his disciples 
and to the world that the predictions of the 



132 Pulpit Echoes. 

Old Testament Scriptures, as well as the as- 
sumptions of the New, in reference to the 
kingly office of the Messiah, were applicable 
to him. He showed the supremacy of his 
power, and demonstrated that the material 
and spiritual worlds were alike under his 
control. 

We see him in the beginning of his mira- 
cles turning water into wine, and by this 
miraculous transformation affording sufficient 
evidence that the laws of nature were subject 
to his direction, and obedient to his will. We 
see him cursing a barren fig-tree by the way- 
side, and immediately it is withered away. 
None but that Being who said, "Let there 
be light, and there was light,'' who "spake, 
and it was done,'' could accomplish such works 
as these. It was the invisible application of a 
controlling power, which nature owned, and to 
which its operations were subject. We see him 
feeding a multitude of more than five thou- 
sand persons with five loaves and two fishes ; 
"and they did all eat and were filled," and 
the fragments that remained exceeded the 
original stock. Here was a notable miracle, 
and an evident creation of substance. There 
could not possibly be any deception in the 



The King of Zion. 133 

case. More than five thousand persons par- 
took of the repast, and were witnesses of the 
facts. We see him speaking to the raging 
winds and boisterous waves, and immediately 
the winds are hushed in silence, and the 
waves subside in tranquillity, for the God of 
the winds and the waves hath spoken. Every 
form of natural disease was under his control. 
Without going into details, we are assured, 
by the sacred historian, that "he healed all 
manner of sickness and disease among the 
people.'' 

No less remarkable was the power which 
he manifested over the spiritual and invisible 
world. He cast out devils with his word. 
We have various cases of this kind re- 
corded by the evangelists ; but the instances 
were too numerous to admit of a particular 
recital. Hence we are told that " they brought 
unto him many that were possessed of devils, 
and he cast out the spirits with his word.'' 
"And," in obedience to his word, "devils came 
out of many, crying out, and saying, Thou art 
Christ the Son of God. And he rebuking 
them suffered them not to speak ; for they 
knew that he was Christ." When he sent out 
the twelve disciples to preach, before his cru- 



134 Pulpit Echoes. 

cifixion, he gave them power and authority 
over all devils. And we are told that the 
seventy disciples returned with joy, saying, 
"Lord, even the devils are subject to us, 
through thy name/' 

He raised the dead. We behold him at 
the gate of Nain, meeting a mournful funeral 
procession, where a widowed mother, with 
smitten heart, followed her only son to the 
place of sepulture. Touched with compassion 
for that afflicted one, he uttered words of con- 
solation in her ears, and in accents of mercy 
said unto her, '' Weep not/' He then ap- 
proached and " touched the bier ; and they that 
bare him stood still. And he said. Young man, 
I say unto thee. Arise.'' And, in obedience to 
his word, the departed spirit re-entered that 
lifeless form ; the heart pulsated anew ; the 
vital current flowed through every vein ; he 
sat up, and those lips that had been sealed 
in death began to move ; his tongue regained 
its power, and he spoke to the astonished 
multitude around him, and with his mother 
returned to his home. On another occasion 
we see him entering the house of Jairus, a 
ruler of the synagogue. His daughter was I 
dead. There was a tumult of grief, for all 



4 



The King of Zion. 135 

present wept and bewailed her greatly. But 
Jesus put them all forth, and taking her par- 
ents and three of his disciples, he entered the 
chamber where the damsel lay, and taking her 
by the hand, he said unto her, " Maid, arise/' 
And straightway she arose and walked, so 
sudden and complete was her restoration to 
life and strength. We see him again at Beth- 
any, with Martha and Mary, and the Jews who 
had come to weep with them, approach the 
grave of Lazarus, after he had been four days 
dead. He mingled his sympathies with theirs, 
for on that occasion "Jesus wept.'' After a 
solemn address to his Father, the covering 
having been removed from the grave, he 
cried with a loud voice, "Lazarus, come forth." 
That voice thrilled through the invisible world, 
called back the spirit of the sleeping dead, 
reanimated that lifeless form, and, in obedience 
to his command, Lazarus came forth. 

Jesus granted remission of sins. On one 
occasion certain persons "brought unto him 
a man sick of the palsy, lying on a bed, and 
Jesus, seeing their faith, said unto the sick of 
the palsy. Son, be of good cheer, thy sins be 
forgiven thee." When the Jews objected to 
his exercise of this prerogative, he informed 



136 Pulpit Echoes. 

them that he had done it, that they might 
know " that the Son of man hath power on 
earth to forgive sins/' On another occa- 
sion, when he dined with a certain Pharisee, 
a woman, who was a sinner, brought an ala- 
baster box of ointment, and standing at his 
feet behind him weeping, began to wash 
his feet with her tears, and to anoint them 
with the precious ointment. After consid- 
erable conversation, which grew out of this 
circumstance, Jesus turned and said unto the 
woman, ''Thy sins be forgiven thee/' And 
those who sat at meat with him, regard- 
ing this as an act of sovereign authority, be- 
gan to say, ''Who is this that forgiveth sins 
also ?" In the case of the penitent thief on 
the cross, we behold Christ, in the exercise of 
regal authority, dispensing pardon on earth, 
and giving assurance of glory in heaven. 

From all these facts, and many others of 
a similar character which might be adduced, 
it clearly appears that in the kingdom of na- 
ture, the kingdom of grace, and the kingdom 
of glory, Christ exercises supreme authority 
and sovereign sway. He is King of kings 
and Lord of lords. Well, indeed, might the 
prophet exclaim in view of his approaching 



The King of Zion. 137 

glory and triumphant reign, ''Rejoice greatly, 
O daughter of Zion ; shout, O daughter of 
Jerusalem : behold, thy king cometh unto thee : 
he is just and having salvation/' 

II. Let us notice his character. This is 
presented in three particulars. 

I . The humility and meekness of his dispo- 
sition, '' He is lowly.'' We may understand 
this term to denote the humility of his mind 
and the gentleness of his spirit. Such humil- 
ity and meekness as united in the character 
of Christ were never before presented to the 
world. "Though he was rich, yet for your 
sakes,'' says the apostle, ''he became poor, that. 
ye through his poverty might be rich." " He 
humbled himself, and took upon him the form 
of a servant, and was found in fashion as a 
man." We see him as the babe of Bethle- 
hem, cradled in a manger. We see him as 
the carpenter's son, a boy in the temple. We 
see him as a man of sorrows and acquainted 
with grief, reposing beneath the palms of Oli- 
vet, and pouring out his prayers upon the 
midnight air. We see him hungry, and thirsty, 
and weary; and, although King of kings and 
Lord of lords, yet " he had not where to lay his 

head." Although the cattle upon a thousand 

12 



138 Pulpit Echoes. 

hills were his, yet so poor was he that he 
was under the necessity of performing a mir- 
acle in order to pay his tribute. He sub- 
mitted to the most cruel insults and scorn. 
" He was led as a lamb to the slaughter, and 
as a sheep before her shearers is dumb, so he 
opened not his mouth." When reviled, he 
reviled not again. He prayed for his most 
cruel enemies, and implored forgiveness for 
those who nailed him to the cross. Oh what 
a combination of meekness and power, of hu- 
mility and glory, is presented to our view in 
the character of Christ, the King of Zion ! 

2. The righteousness of his administration. 
'' He is just.'' This is the character uniformly 
ascribed to the Messiah. The Prophet Jere- 
miah says : '' Behold the days come, saith the 
Lord, that I will raise unto David a righteous 
Branch, and a King shall reign and prosper, 
and shall execute judgment and justice in the 
earth : in his days Judah shall be saved and 
Israel shall dwell safely: and this is the name 
whereby he shall be called. The Lord our 
Righteousness.'' Isaiah declares, " There shall 
come forth a rod out of the stem of Jesse, 
and a Branch shall grow out of his roots : 
and the Spirit of the Lord shall rest upon him, 



The King of Zion, 139 

the spirit of wisdom and understanding, the 
spirit of counsel and might, the spirit of knowl- 
edge and of the fear of the Lord ; and shall 
make him of quick understanding in the fear 
of the Lord : and he shall not judge after the 
sight of his eyes, neither reprove after the 
hearing of his ears : but with righteousness 
shall he judge the poor, and reprove with 
equity for the meek of the earth. And right- 
eousness shall be the girdle of his loins, and 
faithfulness the girdle of his reins/' ''Then 
judgment shall dwell in the wilderness, and 
righteousness remain in the fruitful field. 
And the work of righteousness shall be peace; 
and the effect of righteousness quietness and 
assurance forever.'' "A scepter of righteous- 
ness is the scepter of his kingdom." 

Such is the character ascribed to the Mes- 
siah, and such is the character exhibited by 
Christ. He enforced the principles of truth 
and righteousness in his life, and in his death 
even his enemies were constrained to confess 
this fact. ''When Pilate was set down on the 
judgment seat, his wife sent unto him, saying. 
Have thou nothing to do with that just man." 
And. when Pilate delivered him to be cruci- 
fied, " he took water and washeci his hands be- 



140 Pidpit Echoes, 

fore the multitude, saying, I am innocent of 
the blood of this just person : see ye to it/* 
The Apostle Peter declares that '' Christ died 
the just for the unjust, to bring us to God;" 
and he charged it upon the Jews that they 
'' denied the Holy One and the Just." Christ 
himself assures us that " the Father judgeth 
no man, but hath committed all judgment unto 
the Son." And may we not well inquire, in 
the language of inspiration, '' Shall not the 
Judge of all the earth do right?" Yea, verily, 
he is just, and ''justice and judgment are the 
habitation of his throne." 

3.^ The gracioics design of his righteous i^eign. 
'' He hath salvation." The Prophet Isaiah, in 
prophetic language, grand and beautiful, por- 
trays the Messiah's gracious reign. He de- 
clares, '' The wilderness and the solitary places 
shall be glad for them, and the desert shall 
rejoice and blossom as the rose. It shall blos- 
som abundantly, and rejoice even with joy and 
singing : the glory of Lebanon shall be given 
to it, the excellency of Carmel and Sharon, they 
shall see the glory of the Lord, and the ex- 
cellency of our God. Strengthen ye the weak 
hands, and confirm the feeble knees. Say to 
them that are of a fearful heart, Be strong, 



The King of Zion. 141 

fear not: behold, your God will come with 
vengeance, even God with a recompense ; he 
shall come and save you. Then the eyes of 
the bhnd shall be opened, and the ears of the 
deaf shall be unstopped. Then shall the lame 
man leap as a hart, and the tongue of the 
dumb sing: for in the wilderness shall waters 
break out, and streams in the desert.'' " In 
that day,'' says the Prophet Zechariah, "there 
shall be a fountain opened in the house^ of 
David, and to the inhabitants of Jerusalem, 
for sin and for uncleanness." When the angel 
announced to Mary the birth of Christ, he de- 
clared, "Thou shalt call his name Jesus, for he 
shall save his people from their sins." Christ 
assures us himself that "he came not to call 
the righteous, but sinners to repentance ;" and 
that the great object of his mission was to 
seek and save that which was lost. Hence 
the Apostle Paul, having realized this truth in 
his own experience, assures us that "it is a 
faithful saying, and worthy of all acceptation, 
that Christ Jesus came into the world to save 
sinners." Oh how gracious the disposition of 
our divine Redeemer ! He proclaims to the 
world, " Come unto me, all ye that labor and 
are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. 



142 Pulpit Echoes. 

Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me ; 
for my yoke is easy, and my burden is light/' 
He also declares, " Him that cometh unto me 
I will in no wise cast out/' 

Such is the glorious character and mission 
of Jesus. He comes clothed with the power 
of salvation. He trod the wine-press alone, 
and of the people there was none with him. 
He led captivity captive, and gave gifts unto 
men. Therefore, he is exalted to be a Prince 
and a Savior, to grant repentance and remis- 
sion of sins to his people. 

Is the world guilty and condemned? He 
comes with the offer of pardon and peace. 
Is the world impure and corrupt? He comes 
with the offer of holiness and heaven. Is the 
world wretched and undone ? He comes with 
the offer of happiness and life. Is the world 
debased and degraded ? He comes with the 
offer of exaltation and glory. In a word, 
is the world lost and undone ? He comes 
with the offer of life and salvation. '' Rejoice 
greatly, O daughter of Zion : shout, O daughter 
of Jerusalem : behold thy king cometh unto 
thee : he is just, and having salvation.'' 

When Jesus was born in the city of David, 
the angel-throng, with rapturous joy, chanted 



J 

i 



The King of Zion. 1 43 

o'er Bethlehem's plains, to the listening shep- 
herds, " Glory to God in the highest, peace on 
earth and good-will among men/' Then this 
sublime and glorious prophecy began to re- 
ceive its fulfillment. 

" In heaven the rapturous song began, 
And sweet seraphic fire 
Through all the shining legions ran, 
And strung and tuned the lyre. 

" Swift through the vast expanse it flew, 
And loud the echo rolled; 
The theme, the joy, the song was new, 
'Twas more than heaven could hold. 

" Down through the portals of the sky, 
The impetuous torrent ran; 
• And angels flew with eager joy, 
To bear the news to man.'' 

In the worship of the Magi, and the exul- 
tations of Simeon and Anna in the temple, 
we hear earth's first response to this heavenly 
strain. It is prolonged in the hosannas of the 
multitude and the shouts of the little children. 
The Marys felt its thrill of joy when they 
proclaimed to the astonished disciples a risen 
Savior and an empty tomb. And on the day 



144 Pulpit Echoes. 

of Pentecost three thousand exultant hearts 
proclaimed the Savior come, and rejoiced 
greatly in his salvation. 

But we have greater cause of joy than 
they. They rejoiced in the advent of Christ, 
and in the first displays of his grace. But 
we may rejoice in his extended dominion, and 
in the near approach of his universal triumph. 
As the King of Zion he will crush the pride 
of the world, break every scepter of oppres- 
sion, overthrow every throne of iniquity, and 
cause his salvation to be known to the ends 
of the earth. 

"Jesus shall reign where'er the sun, 
Does his successive journeys run; 
His praise shall spread from shore to shore, 
'Till moons shall wax and wane no more." 

Let earth rejoice and heaven be glad ! 
Jesus reigns ! he reigns victorious ! His king- 
dom is the kingdom of grace, and his reign 
is the reign of salvation 

"Fling out the banner! let it float 
Skyward and seaward, high and wide; 
Our glory, only in the Cross, 
Our only hope, the Crucified. 



The King of Zion. 145 

"Fling out the banner! heathen lands 
Shall see from far the glorious sight; 
And nations, crowding to be born, 
Baptize their spirits in its light. 

" Fling out the banner ! sin-sick souls. 
That sink and perish in the strife, 
Shall touch in faith its radiant hem 
And spring immortal into life." 



13 



146 Pulpit Echoes. 



IX. 
WHAT THE APOSTLES DID AND TAUGHT. 

*' Conjirming tJie souls of the disripleSy atid exlwrting tJiem to continue 
in the faith^ and that we mtist through mtuh tribulation enter into tJie 

kingdo77i of God.'''' Acts xiv : 22. 

PAUL and Barnabas, by direction of the 
Holy Ghost, had been set apart by the 
church at Antioch for a special service 
to which God had called them. And when 
the brethren '' had fasted and prayed, and laid 
their hands upon them, they sent them away." 
Faithful in the performance of the work as- 
signed them, they went forth from city to city, 
and from country to country, preaching the 
Gospel and making converts to the faith. 
Having planted the seed of divine truth, they 
deemxed it important to water it ; having made 
converts to the faith, they considered it neces- 
sary to strengthen and establish them. Hence 
we are informed that when they had preached 
the Gospel in Derbe, "and had taught many^ 



What the Apostles Did and Taught. 1 47 

that they returned again to Lystra, and to 
Iconium, and to Antioch, confirming the souls 
of the disciples, and exhorting them to con- 
tinue in the faith, and that we must through 
much tribulation enter into the kingdom of 
God." 

We have here presented what the apostles 
did and taught. Let us notice, 

I. What the apostles did. They confirmed 
the souls of the disciples, and exhorted them 
to continue in the faith. 

I . They confirmed the souls of the disciples. 
Confirmation, as we now use the term in a 
religious sense, is of two kinds, ecclesiastical 
and spiritual. Ecclesiastical confirmation is a 
rite in certain churches, by which an individ- 
ual, when he arrives at years of discretion, 
takes upon himself all the obligations assumed 
for him by his godfather and godmother at 
the time of his baptism. In the primitive 
Church confirmation usually accompanied bap- 
tism, and it does so still in the Greek Church. 
The Latin, or Roman Church, has made it an 
independent sacrament, and has fixed the age 
of seven years as the time for its observance. 
But in the Church of England the age for 
confirmation is not fixed. 



148 Pulpit Echoes, 

This, however, is not the kind of confirm- 
ation spoken of in the text. It is spiritual 
confirmation — the confirmation of the soul — 
the establishment of believers in the knowl- 
edge and love of the truth, by the Spirit and 
grace of God, communicated to the soul in 
the use of the appropriate means. This is 
true confirmation, that which is necessary to 
our steadfastness, perseverance, and final sal- 
vation. 

The souls of believers, and especially of 
young converts, need to be confirmed. They 
are surrounded with influences which are w^ell 
calculated to unsettle and overthrow their 
faith. ''The cares of this world, and the lusts 
of other things, entering in/' are calculated to 
*' choke the word," and render it unfruitful. 
Like a little child, they often waver, their 
steps are tottering and unsteady, and they 
need to be guided and supported until they 
acquire sufficient strength and experience to 
enable them to walk alone. Or, like a tree 
which has been recently planted, and needs 
to be kept in its position by external aids, 
until the ground has settled around it, and its 
roots have struck deep into the earth, thereby 
keeping it in its place, and enabling it to resist 



What the Apostles Did and Taught, 1 49 

the winds and the storms, so believers, and 
especially young converts, need the watchful 
care, the godly counsel, and the assisting hand 
of the more experienced and better estab- 
lished, until they become rooted and grounded 
in the faith, settled and fixed in their convic- 
tions and purposes, so that they can not by 
every wind of doctrine be moved away from 
the hope of the Gospel. 

The apostles confirmed the souls of the 
disciples, not as efficient agents, by their own 
power, but as faithful instruments in the hand 
of God, by his power. They did this, ordi- 
narily, by proving to them, in the first place, 
more certainly the truth of the Gospel, its 
harmony with ancient prophecies, its fulfill- 
ment of ancient promises, and its confirma- 
tion by stupendous miracles. Pointing to 
Jesus, they declared that '' to him gave all the 
prophets witness, that through faith in his 
name, whosoever believeth in him shall re- 
ceive the remission of sins.'' They maintained 
that he was that great Prophet that should 
come into the world, and to whom the gath- 
ering of the people should be ; that he w^as 
the promised Seed, the root and the offspring 
of David, the bricrht and Mornincr Star, and 



150 Pulpit Echoes. 

that he was approved of God by miracles, and 
wonders, and signs which God did by him in 
the midst of the people. In the second place, 
they pointed out to them more clearly their 
need of the Gospel. All have sinned, all are 
under condemnation, and by the deeds of 
the law shall no flesh be justified. Christ is 
the only Savior of sinners, and the only hope 
of the world. '' Neither is there salvation in 
any other; for there is no other name under 
heaven given among men whereby we may be 
saved." And, finally, they explained to them 
more fully the provisions of the Gospel, point- 
ing out clearly their privileges under it, and 
the fullness of the blessings which it bestows. 

These are the most effectual means for 
the confirmation of the souls of believers. 
The more fully we are convinced of the truth 
of the Gospel, the more deeply we feel our 
need of the Gospel, and the more clearly we 
understand its provisions, and rely on the 
grace of God revealed therein, the more fully 
will our souls be confirmed and established in 
the truth. 

2. They exhorted ihe77i to contimte in the 
faith; that is, to maintain that system of 
doctrines contained in the Gospel which they 



What the Apostles Did and Taught. 151 

had taught them, the truth of which they had 
clearly established, their need of which they 
had plainly pointed out, and the provisions of 
which they had fully explained. 

To retain is something more difficult than 
to acquire. They that are in the faith should 
be encouraged to continue therein. This is 
necessary for God's glory, the interests of his 
cause, and their own comfort and salvation. 
They should maintain their Christian stead- 
fastness to preserve them from self-condem- 
nation, from bringing a reproach upon the 
cause of Christ, and from doing great injury 
by their example and influence to others. 
They should be exhorted, then, to continue, 
in the faith— in the belief of it, in the profes- 
sion of it, in the practice of it, and in the 
hope of it. 

This is the great work, then, which the 
apostles did: ''They confirmed the souls of 
the disciples, and exhorted them to continue 
in the faith." I notice, 

II. What they taught — "That we must 
through much tribulation enter into the king- 
dom of God." 

This was also a means of confirmation to 
the disciples. The best way to preserve a 



152 Pulpit Echoes. 

man from danger is to warn him against it. 
Hence the aphorism, " He that is forewarned 
is forearmed/' Christ himself has taught his 
disciples that ''in the world they shall have 
tribulation ;'' and he exhorts them before en- 
tering his service to '' count the cost/' We 
are also assured that '' if any man will live 
godly in Christ Jesus, he shall suffer perse- 
cution/' And here we are told that it ''is 
through much tribulation we must enter the 
kingdom/' 

The word tribulation comes from the Latin, 
trihdo, which means to thrash or beat, as 
grain is thrashed by a flail, or as ships are 
beaten by the waves in a storm. It corre- 
sponds in meaning to the original Greek word 
here, the primary import of which is pressure. 
This is the real idea designed to be conveyed 
by the term tribulation — a great moral pres- 
sure on the soul. The Apostle Paul, in his 
second letter to the Corinthians, says : " We 
would not have you ignorant, brethren, of our 
trouble" — the same word rendered tribula- 
tion in the text — "which came to us in Asia, 
that we were pressed out of measure, inso- 
much that we despaired even of life." They 
taught, then. 



Wkai the Apostles Did and Taught. 153 

I. That we must through tribulation enter 
into the kingdom of God. The wheat must be 
separated from the straw and chaff before it 
is prepared for the garner; but this can only 
be done by repeated acts of violence or con- 
tinued pressure. The flail or other instru- 
ment must be applied, and by its pressure the 
kernels of the wheat, the valuable part, must 
be separated from the gtraw and the chaff. 
Ships upon the ocean are beaten by the bil- 
lows and tempests of the deep, which press 
and break upon their sides. Every mariner 
who steers his vessel to a distant port ex- 
pects to encounter the beating billows on his 
voyage, and his vessel must possess sufficient 
strength to resist the pressure, if he would 
perform the voyage in safety, and reach the 
destined haven. 

In our passage to the kingdom, many a 
stroke of affliction, with its mighty pressure, 
will fall upon our souls. Billow after billow 
will break upon us, and " storm after storm 
will rise dark o'er the way.'' 

It seems to be necessary that we be sub- 
jected to severe trials — to a great moral pres- 
sure — to test our graces, and as a means of 
our purification. The apostle tells us that 



154 Pulpit Echoes. 

the trial of our faith is much more precious 
than that of gold that perisheth, "though it 
be tried in the fire/' Even the great Captain 
of our salvation was made perfect through 
suffering. He endured the cross and de- 
spised the shame. Oh what a weight of trib- 
ulation pressed upon his soul ! ''And shall 
the disciple be above his master, or the ser- 
vant above his lord?" Surely it is enough 
if the servant be as his master, and the dis- 
ciple as his lord. Sometimes Satan desires 
to have us that he may sift us as wheat ; but 
Christ says to us, as he said to Peter, "I 
have prayed for you, that your faith fail not.'* 
He has also declared that he will '' thor- 
oughly purge his floor, and gather the wheat 
into his garner, but he will burn up the chaff 
with unquenchable fire.'' 

The afflictions of the present time are not 
designed to destroy us, but, through the grace 
of God, to work in us ''a meetness for the 
inheritance of the saints in light." Hence 
the apostle exhorts us not to think it strange 
concerning the fiery trial that is to try us, as 
though some strange thing happened unto 
us, but to rejoice, inasmuch as we are par- 
takers of Christ's sufferings; that when his 



What the Apostles Did and Taught. 155 

glory shall be revealed, we may be glad also 
with exceeding joy. We are also assured 
that our light affliction, which is but for a 
moment, worketh for us a far more exceed- 
ing and eternal weight of glory. 

2. In our passage to the kingdom we shall 
not only have tribulation, but much tribulation. 
Our trials will end only with our lives. The 
Savior was surrounded with cruel enemies, 
even on the cross. It was not till he cried, 
"It is finished,'' and gave up the ghost, 
that the mighty pressure was lifted from his 
soul. "The head having been crowned with 
thorns, it is not meet that the feet should 
tread on roses.'' Afflictions, like the waters 
of Marah, still lie before us in our passage to 
the kingdom. The Savior tasted the worm- 
wood and the gall, and we too must drink 
of the full cup of earthly sorrow. 

But to those whose souls have been con- 
firmed, and who continue in the faith, " tribu- 
lation worketh patience, and patience expe- 
rience, and experience hope; and hope maketh 
not ashamed, because the love of God is shed 
abroad in our hearts by the Holy Ghost which 
is given unto us." In all our tribulation we 
have hope as an anchor to the soul, both sure 



156 Ptdpit Echoes. 

and steadfast, and which reaches to that with- 
in the vail. 

3. The passage, htrbtdent though it be, will 
terminate in the kingdom. We shall " enter 
in/' Our entrance will be a lawful one. We 
shall not enter the kingdom as intruders, but as 
rightful heirs. If we are children of God, then 
are we heirs of God, and joint-heirs with Jesus 
Christ. If Christians, we have a title to an 
inheritance incorruptible, undefiled, and that 
fadeth not away in heaven. Having passed 
through the wilderness, and over the Jordan, 
we shall claim our inheritance in the prom- 
ised land; and we are assured that it shall be 
given to us. Jesus says, ''Be thou faithful unto 
death, and I will give thee a crown of life." 
"To him that overcometh will I give to eat 
of the tree of life, which is in the midst of 
the Paradise of God.'' ''And the Lamb that 
is in the midst of the throne shall feed them, 
and shall lead them unto living fountains of 
waters : and God shall wipe away all tears from 
their eyes.'' 

It will be a joyful and triumphant entrance, 
amid the acclaim of angels and the raptures 
of the redeemed. If we are now surrounded 
with so great a cloud of witnesses to behold 



What the Apostles Did and Taught. 157 

our conflict, how will they throng the battle- 
ments of heaven to witness our triumphant 
entrance into life ! Friends and loved ones 
in their shining beauty will welcome us to our 
home. 

With what joy does the sailor, after a long 
and stormy passage, enter the desired haven! 
With what gladness does the poor pilgrim, 
whose weary feet have trod the rough paths 
of the desert, enter his home ! 

See ! A noble vessel is nearing the port. 
A mother stands upon the pier and anxiously 
watches the approach of the spreading sail. 
Her poor sailor-boy for long years has been 
out on the wide ocean, and she is looking 
for his return. The vessel approaches nearer 
and nearer, and at length drops her anchor 
within the pier-head. A moment, and that 
sailor-boy is clasped in his mother's arms ; 
their hearts beat in unison and are thrilled 
with joy. 

The rebellion has been crushed, and the 
soldiers are returning from the war. They 
have endured the wintry winds and the beat- 
ing rains, and have passed through the con- 
flicts of many a bloody battle and many a 
well-fought field. With their tattered colors, 



158 Pulpit Echoes. 

and the dust of battle upon their helmets, 
they are returning in triumph to their homes. 
The train is approaching ! The iron horse, 
with ponderous tread, snorting to the winds 
in the sportiveness of his strength, as if con- 
scious of the precious burden that it bears, 
approaches nearer and nearer, and at length 
arrives at the station. Fathers and mothers 
are there to greet their returning sons ; broth- 
ers and sisters are there to greet their return- 
ing brothers ; wives are there to greet their 
returning husbands ; children are there to 
greet their fathers ; sweethearts are there to 
greet their lovers, and shout after shout wel- 
comes their return ! But what is all this com- 
pared with the triumphant entrance of the 
Christian, after the toils and trials of life, into 
the kingdom? Oh the chantings of the angels, 
the songs of the redeemed, and the splen- 
dors of the throne ! Oh what joyful greetings 
from loved ones in their rest ! 



The Advent of Christ. 159 



X. 

THE ADVENT OF CHKIST. 

THE BIRTH OF JESUS. 
^^ Now, when Jesus was born,^"^ Matthew ii: I. 

THE advent of Christ is a subject of the 
greatest importance, and should excite 
the deepest interest in every Chris- 
tian mind. It presents to us the wonderful 
condescension of our blessed Redeemer in 
stooping so low as to take upon him our na- 
ture and be found in fashion as a man. Con- 
sidered in connection with the long series of 
preparatory events which preceded it, the cir- 
cumstances which attended it, and the import- 
ant consequences which depended upon it, it 
shows the unity of the divine purpose, the 
harmony of the divine word, and the gradual 
but certain development of the economy of 
divine grace. We first behold the dawn of 
the coming day, then the faint beams of the 



i6o Pulpit Echoes. 

rising Sun of Righteousness, and then the 
full diffusion of his glorious light. The proper 
consideration of this subject is well calcu- 
lated to strengthen our faith and confirm our 
hope. Let us consider, 

I. The birtJi of Jesus — "Now, when Jesus 
was born." 

I. This event had long been the subject of 
promise. Christ was revealed in Paradise. 
The promise of a Deliverer was made to our 
first parents before they were driven from 
the abode of Eden. It is contained in the 
sentence denounced against the serpent, " I 
will put enmity between thee and the woman, 
and between thy seed and her seed ; it [or 
he] shall bruise thy head, and thou shalt 
bruise his heel." 

This declaration can not be understood 
literally. Such an interpretation would be 
absurd. Nothing- could be more inconsistent 
with our ideas of propriety. To represent 
the great God of the universe, after he had 
finished the work of creation, and placed man 
in dominion as lord of the terrestrial world, 
and he, through the instrumentality of the 
serpent, had transgressed the divine law, 
as declaring, in the most solemn manner, and 



The Advent of Christ. i6i 

apparently without any wise or benevolent end 
in view, that he would put enmity between the 
woman and her posterity and the serpent and 
every succeeding brood of serpents, and that 
while the latter should inflict a partial injury 
on the former, that the former should finally 
crush and destroy the latter, would be in- 
finitely beneath the dignity of the divine 
character and the magnitude and importance 
of the subject. We must, then, seek for some 
other interpretation of this passage more suit- 
able to the wisdom and glory of God, and to 
the circumstances under which it was uttered. 
By the serpent here is no doubt primarily 
intended Satan, or that evil spiritual agent 
who manifested his hatred to God and our 
first parents, through the instrumentality of 
a literal serpent, or of some animal or reptile 
to which that name has been given. This is 
the view generally entertained upon this sub- 
ject, and its correctness is established by nu- 
merous passages in the word of God. Those 
who partake of his spirit, and are under his in- 
fluence and control, may properly be regarded 
as his seed. John the Baptist, addressing the 
Pharisees and Sadducees who came to his bap- 
tism, and who possessed the spirit of the Evil 

14 



1 62 Pidpit Echoes. 

One, exclaimed, ''O generation of vipers, who 
hath warned you to flee from the wrath to 
come ?" Christ on one occasion said to the 
Jews, '' O generation of vipers, how can ye, 
being evil, speak good things?" On another 
occasion he said, '* Ye serpents, ye generation 
of vipers, how can ye escape the damnation 
of hell ?'' The reason why these appellations 
were given to them by Christ is assigned in 
another place, where he plainly declared to 
them, ''Ye are of your father, the Devil, and 
the lusts of your father ye will do. He was 
a murderer from the beginning, and abode 
not in the truth, because there is no truth in 
him. When he speaketh a lie he speaketh 
of his own ; for he is a liar and the father of 
it." Here is a very clear allusion to the de- 
ception practiced on Eve, and the introduction 
of death into the world, so far at least as 
our race is concerned, through the agency 
of Satan. But the Apostle John settles this 
question beyond dispute by specifically desig- 
nating the Devil and Satan by the appella- 
tion serpent. "And the great dragon was 
cast out, that old serpent, called the Devil, 
and Satan, which deceiveth the whole world." 
Again he says, '' I saw an angel come down 



The Adve7it of Christ 163 

from heaven, having the key of the bottomless 
pit and a great chain in his hand. And he 
laid hold on the dragon, that old serpent, 
which is the Devil and Satan, and bound him 
a thousand years, and cast him into the bot- 
tomless pit." It is very evident, in the light 
of these passages, that the declaration in 
Genesis does not primarily apply to the ser- 
pent literally, but to Satan, who used it as 
an instrument in accomplishing his unholy 
purpose. 

Now, if we reject the literal interpretation 
of the passage as it relates to the serpent and 
his seed, I do not know by what just prin- 
ciple of exegesis we can retain it in its appli- 
cation to the woman and her seed. Besides, 
if we interpret ''the seed of the woman" to 
mean the whole of her natural descendants, 
then the passage thus explained will teach a 
doctrine which is contradicted by the whole 
tenor of the Bible. It would represent our 
race as delivering themselves from the thrall- 
dom of Satan, defeating his designs, and 
crushing his power; whereas, our condition 
by nature is represented in the word of God 
as one of utter helplessness. Hence it is de- 
clared that '' when we were without strength, 



164 Pulpit Echoes, 

in due time Christ died for the ungodly/' 
And Christ declares, ''Without me ye can do 
nothing/' 

If, then, by the ''serpent'' and "his seed" 
we are to understand Satan, or that evil spir- 
itual agent who manifested himself through 
a literal serpent in the original temptation and 
introduction of sin into the world, we must 
by "the seed of the woman" understand the 
Messiah, or that divine person who should 
manifest himself in our nature, and by whose 
power, after the endurance of a temporary 
suffering, Satan shall be crushed and forever 
subdued. 

The phrase, " seed of the woman," is pe- 
culiar, and can not perhaps with propriety be 
applied to the natural descendants of Adam 
and Eve. If we consider it in connection with 
the prediction of Isaiah, found in the seventh 
chapter of his prophecy, and at the fourteenth 
verse, "A virgin shall conceive, and bear a 
son, and thou shalt call his name Immanuel;" 
and then compare it with the history of the 
fulfillment of this prophecy contained in the 
first chapter of the Gospel as recorded by St. 
Luke, we will have good reason to believe 
that by this phrase is not meant the natural 



The Advent of Christ. 165 

posterity of Adam, but one whose birth should 
be miraculous,^ as his mission was to be divine. 

Adam, it is supposed, expressed his faith 
in the coming Messiah — which, so far as we 
can know, must have been founded on the 
divine declaration under consideration, — by 
calling his wife by a new name. When she 
was first brought to him, he said, "She shall 
be called woman ;" but after the transgression 
he called her name Eve, "because,'' he said, 
"she was the mother of all living/' This may 
receive some light from the declaration of the 
Apostle Paul, " As in Adam all die, even so 
in Christ shall all be made alive." It would 
be very natural and appropriate for Adam, in 
hope of the coming Deliverer — the Restorer 
of life — to call his wife Eve, which literally 
means to live, as through her seed the life 
which had been forfeited by sin should be re- 
stored. 

The faith of Eve in the promised Seed is 
expressed in a still more remarkable man- 
ner. Her first-born son she called " Cain," 
which means "to obtain, possess," saying, "I 
have gotten a man from the Lord ;" or liter- 
ally, as rendered by the learned Christian 
Jew, Mr. Frey, "I have gotten a man, Jeho- 



1 66 Pulpit Echoes. 

vah/' no doubt believing that she had given 
birth to the promised Messiah^ who should 
bruise the head of the serpent. 

If the Messiah is not revealed or promised 
in this passage, then we have no promise to 
excite the expectation of his coming till the 
time of Abraham, a period of more than 
fifteen hundred years. But that there were 
believers in the coming Deliverer before 
that time we can not reasonably doubt. The 
Apostle Paul places this matter beyond dis- 
pute. He tells us, "By faith Abel offered 
unto God a more excellent sacrifice than Cain, 
by which he obtained witness that he was 
righteous, God testifying to his gifts ; and by 
it he being dead yet speaketh." The faith of 
Abel was justifying faith ; for by it he ob- 
tained witness that he was righteous. But 
the Apostle Paul teaches us that justification is 
obtained only by faith in Christ. ''By him all 
that believe are justified." If Abel, then, was 
justified, it must have been by faith in the 
coming Messiah, and that faith must have 
rested on the divine promise, for " faith cometh 
by hearing, and hearing by the word of God.'' 
''By faith," it is said, "Enoch was translated, 
that he should not see death; and was not 



The Advent of Christ. 167 

found, because God had translated him, for 
before his translation he had this testimony, 
that he pleased God/' But there can be no 
friendly intercourse between God and man 
but through a Mediator; and as Enoch pleased 
God, his faith must have rested on the coming 
Messiah, the Mediator of the New Covenant ; 
for it is immediately added, ''Without faith it 
is impossible to please him/' We conclude, 
then, that the first intimation or promise of 
the coming Messiah was given to our first 
parents before they were driven from the 
abode of Eden. 

This promise was renewed to Abraham, 
when God called him in Ur of the Chaldees, 
to leave his native country, and his kindred, 
and go unto the place that he should show 
him. " Now the Lord said unto Abraham, Get 
thee out of thy country, and from thy kindred, 
and from thy father's house, unto a land that 
I will show thee : and I will make of thee a 
great nation, and I will bless thee, and make 
thy name great; and thou shalt be a blessing: 
and I will bless them that bless thee, and curse 
him that curseth thee; and in thee shall all fam- 
ilies of the earth be blessed." This promise 
was confirmed to him with an oath at a subse- 



1 68 Pulpit Echoes. 

quent period, after he had obeyed the divine 
command, in proceeding to offer up his son 
Isaac on the mountains of Moriah. "And the 
angel of the Lord called unto Abraham out 
of heaven the second time, and said, By my- 
self have I sworn, saith the Lord ; for be- 
cause thou hast done this thing, and hast not 
withheld thy son, thine only son ; that in bless- 
ing I will bless thee, and in multiplying I will 
multiply thy seed as the stars of heaven, and 
as the sand which is on the sea-shore ; and thy 
seed shall possess the gate of his enemies: and 
in thy seed shall all the nations of the earth 
be blessed ; because thou hast obeyed my 
voice." The same promise was made to 
Isaac, when, in time of famine, he went to 
Abimelech, king of the Philistines, to Gerar. 
"And the Lord appeared unto Isaac, and said, 
Go not down into Egypt ; dwell in the land 
which I shall tell thee of. Sojourn in this 
land; and I will be widi thee: for unto thee, 
and unto thy seed, I will give all these coun- 
tries; and I will perform the oath which I 
sware unto Abraham thy father: and I will 
make thy seed to multiply as the stars of 
heaven, and will give unto thy seed all these 
countries, and in thy seed shall all the nations 



The Advent of Christ 169 

of the earth be blessed." It was repeated 
to Jacob at Bethel. ''And behold the Lord 
stood about it'' — that is, the ladder which 
Jacob saw in divine vision — "and said, I am 
the God of Abraham thy father, and the God 
of Isaac : the land whereon thou liest, to thee 
will I give it, and to thy seed. And thy seed 
shall be as the dust of the earth; and thou 
shalt spread abroad to the west, and to the 
east, and to the north, and to the south: and 
in thee, and in thy seed, shall all the families 
of the earth be blessed." 

In the promise to Abraham, which was 
afterward renewed to Isaac and to Jacob, 
there are three things specified. First, per- 
sonal blessings — "I will bless thee." Second, 
relative blessings — "I will multiply thy seed 
as the stars of heaven ;" and as renewed to 
Isaac and Jacob, it included the possession of 
the land of Canaan. Third, spiritual blessings, 
or the promise of the Messiah — ''In thy seed 
shall all the nations of the earth be blessed." 
The fulfillment of this promise so far as it 
relates to Abraham and his natural posterity is 
evident from their history. "Abraham," says 
Dr. Thomas Scott, " was not renowned either 
as a conqueror, a lawgiver, or an inventor 

15 



170 Pulpit Echoes. 

of useful and Ingenious arts ; he was neither 
a monarch, a genius, a philosopher, nor even 
so much as an author of any sort ; but a 
plain man, dwelling in tents, and feeding cat- 
tle all his days ; yet perhaps no man has been 
so widely and permanently held in honor. 
The Jews, and many tribes of the Saracens 
and Arabians, justly own and revere him as 
their progenitor; many nations at the East 
exceedingly honor his name to this day, and 
glory in their real or supposed relation to 
him/' His descendants have been, and still 
are, the most remarkable people on the earth, 
preserved in a miraculous manner for the ac- 
complishment of a glorious ultimate design. 
But while it is true, accordmg to the divine 
promise, that Abraham was greatly blessed 
personally, and that his posterity have been 
wonderfully multiplied and preserved, it is not 
true that all the nations and families of the 
earth have been blessed in any one of his 
merely natural descendants, or by the Jewish 
nation collectively, as a people. So that the 
latter part of the promise made to Abraham, 
and afterward renewed to Isaac and to Jacob, 
must refer to the Messiah, in whom alone it 
has been fulfilled. 



The Advent of Christ. 171 

That the seed of Abraham, in which all the 
nations and families of the earth should be 
blessed, refers to Christ, is established beyond 
controversy by the Apostle Paul in the third 
chapter of his letter to the Galatians : '' Now 
to Abraham and his seed were the promises 
made. He saith not. And to seeds, as of 
many; but as one. And to thy seed which is 
Christ. And this I say. That the covenant 
that was confirmed before by God in Christ, 
the law, which was four hundred and thirty 
years after, can not disannul, that it should 
make the promise of none effect. For if the 
inheritance be of the law, it is no more of 
promise: but God gave it to Abraham by 
promise.'' The faith of Abraham, for which 
he has been so much celebrated, and in con- 
sequence of which he has been called ''the 
father of the faithful,'' was unquestionably faith 
in Christ, the promised Seed. 

The promise of the Messiah was also made 
to David. "And it shall come to pass, when 
thy days be expired, that thou must go to be 
with thy fathers, that I will raise up thy seed 
after thee, which shall be of thy sons ; and I will 
establish his kingdom. But I will settle him in 
mine house and in my kingdom forever: and 



172 Pulpit Echoes, 

his throne shall be established forevermore/' 
We have a noble comment on this promise 
in the eighty-ninth Psalm: ''I have made a 
covenant with my chosen, I have sworn unto 
David my servant, Thy seed will I establish 
forever, and build up thy throne to all 
generations/' " His seed also will I make to 
endure forever, and his throne as the days 
of heaven/' ''Once have I sworn by my holi- 
ness that I will not lie unto David. His seed 
shall endure forever, and his throne as the 
sun before me/' These promises can not ap- 
ply to Solomon or any of the succeeding 
kings of Israel, whose thrones have been over- 
turned, and whose scepters have been broken, 
but to David's greater Son, to whom shall 
be given " dominion, and glory, and a king- 
dom, that all people, and nations, and lan- 
guages should serve him : his dominion is 
an everlasting dominion, which shall not pass 
away, and his kingdom that which shall not 
be destroyed/' 

2, It had also been predicted, Balaam, under 
a divine influence and constraint, exclaimed, 
"I shall see him, but not now: I shall behold 
him, but not nigh: there shall come a Star 
out of Jacob, and a Scepter shall rise out of 



The Advent of Christ 173 

Israel, and shall smite the corners of Moab, 
and destroy the children of Sheth. And 
Edom shall be a possession for his enemies; 
and Israel shall do valiantly. Out of Jacob 
shall come he that shall have dominion, and 
shall destroy him that remaineth of the city/' 
Previous to the coming of Christ, this pre- 
diction was always applied by the Jews to the 
Messiah. And if we consider the character 
of Balaam, the presence of the king and 
elders of Moab, and the circumstances in 
which it was uttered, it can not but impress 
our minds with a sense of its importance. 
The coming Deliverer is represented as a 
''star,'' to give us perhaps some intimation 
of his 'celestial nature. He is also represent- 
ed, according to the divine promise, as rising- 
out of Jacob ; and while there is direct refer- 
ence made to the temporal blessings of his 
posterity, we can not but perceive the direct 
allusion to him in whom all the families of the 
earth should be blessed. 

Another interesting and important predic- 
tion of Christ was uttered by Moses a short 
time previous to his death. ''The Lord thy 
God," said he, "will raise up unto thee a 
prophet from the midst of thee, of thy breth- 



174 Pttlpit Echoes, 

ren, like unto me: unto him ye shall hearken/' 
When the law was delivered on Mount Horeb, 
the manifestations of the divine glory were 
so terrible that the people were filled with 
fear, and requested that God would not again 
speak with them, but that he would commu- 
nicate to them his will throuofh Moses. And 
now that he was about to be removed from 
them, he informed them of a coming Prophet 
like unto himself, in whose mouth God would 
put his words, and to whom they should 
hearken. This prediction can only apply to 
Christ. None of the prophets who succeeded 
Moses were like him. He was illustrious 
for his familiar converse with God, the num- 
ber and greatness of his miracles, and above 
all as the founder of a new system of relig- 
ion, and a new form of worship. In Christ 
alone can all these points of resemblance be 
found. *' He thought it not robbery to be 
equal with God,'' and declared, " I and my 
Father are one." He performed the most 
notable miracles, not indeed like Moses in 
the name of God, but in his own name, and 
by his own power. He introduced a new 
dispensation, and established a more pure 
and spiritual worship. From these consid- 



The Advent of Christ. 175 

erations we can not for a moment doubt that 
Moses in this prediction foretold the coming 
of Christ, the true and anointed Prophet of 
his people. Indeed, this prediction was almost 
universally understood by the Jews, previous 
to our Lord's time, to point out the Messiah. 
On one occasion, when Christ had performed 
a most notable miracle, the people said — 
referring to the prediction of Moses — "This 
is of a truth that Prophet that should come 
into the world.'' It was applied to Christ by 
Peter in his address to the people, after he 
had healed the lame man at the beautiful gate 
of the temple, and also by Stephen in his ad- 
dress to the people before his martyrdom. 

A most minute and remarkable prediction 
of the Messiah was uttered by the Prophet 
Isaiah: "Unto us a child is born, unto us a 
son is given, and the government shall be upon 
his shoulder, and he shall be called Wonderful, 
Counselor, The mighty God, The everlasting 
Father, The Prince of Peace." Here we have 
the union of the human and the divine na- 
tures, in the person of the Messiah, clearly 
pointed out. While he is represented as a 
child born, he is also represented as the 
mighty God ; while he is pointed out as the 



T76 Pulpit Echoes. 

son given, he is also denominated the Father 
of the Everlasting Age. In a word, he is 
clearly presented to our view as '' God mani- 
fested in the flesh." 

3. It had also been long expected. At the 
time of the birth of Christ this expectation 
generally prevailed. He was doubtless the 
object of desire to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, 
and all the pious men of old. Christ said to 
the Jews of his time, ''Abraham rejoiced to see 
my day," or, as some read it, ''desired" to see 
my day, "and he saw it" — not by the eye of 
sense, but by the eye of faith— "and was glad." 
Jacob exclaimed with his dying breath, " I have 
waited for thy salvation, O Lord." Good old 
Simeon and Anna, and many other pious per- 
sons, waited for the consolation of Israel. 
When John the Baptist appeared, the Phari- 
sees sent priests and Levites to ask him 
whether he was the Christ. The common 
people exclaimed, " If thou be the Christ, tell 
us plainly." The Samaritans likewise had a 
knowledge of the promised Savior, and ex- 
pected his coming. This is evident from the 
conversation of the woman at Jacob's well. 
" For I know," said she, " Messias cometh, 



The Advent of Christ. 177 

which is called Christ; when he is come, he 
will tell us all things/' 

This expectation was not confined to the 
Jews and Samaritans, but prevailed among 
the Romans and throughout all the countries 
of the East, which embraced almost the whole 
of the then known world. Suetonius says 
that "an ancient and constant tradition had 
prevailed throughout the East, that in the 
fates it was decreed, that about that time 
some who should come from Judea should 
obtain the dominion and government'' of the 
world. Tacitus, in relating the great prodi- 
gies which preceded the destruction of Jeru- 
salem, says, that "many understood them as 
the forerunners of that extraordinary person 
who the ancient books of the priests did fore- 
tell should come about that time from Judea, 
and obtain the dominion." Virgil, a Roman 
poet, about the beginning of the reign of 
Herod the Great, " compliments the Consul 
Pollio with this prophecy, by supposing it 
• might refer to his son Saloninus, then born ; 
but the words are too great to be verified of 
any mere mortal man. He speaks of such a 
golden age as can not be fulfilled in the reign 
of any earthly king." He says : 



178 Piclpit Echoes. 

" The last age decreed by fate is come^ 
And a new frame of all things does begin; 
An holy Progeny from heaven descends, 
Auspicious be his birth, which puts an end 
To the iron age, and from whence shall rise 
A golden state far glorious through the earth.'' 

Again, in describing that golden age, he 
says : 

" Nor shall the flocks fierce lions fear ; 
No serpent shall be there, nor herb of poisonous juice." 

And' again: ' 

^' Enter on thy high honor, now's the time 
Offspring of God, Oh thou great gift of Jove ! 
Behold, the world, heaven, earth and seas do shake, 
Behold how all rejoice to greet that glorious day." 

Now, it matters not to whom Virgil ap- 
plies all this, whether to Saloninus or some 
other one, it shows the general expectation 
which then existed of the appearance of some 
extraordinary personage, who should intro- 
duce a golden age, and reform and rule the 
world. 

From what has been said we are able to 
form some just conception of the importance 
of the event recorded in the text. Sin had 




The Advent of Christ 1 79 

entered the world and spread its withering 
blight o'er all the earth. The roses of Eden 
had faded, its streams had been embittered, 
and its air had been loaded with the pestilen- 
tial vapors of death. Man was doomed to go 
forth and toil in sorrow and sadness until he 
should return to the dust from whence he 
was taken. A deep and moral gloom en- 
shrouded the world; but the far distant hori- 
zon was crimsoned with light, for God had 
promised the coming of a bright and glori- 
ous day. Men continued to multiply, and to 
spread out upon the mountains, and on the 
plains, and in the valleys by the stream-sides; 
but wherever they went their hearts were 
still oppressed with the curse, and they longed 
for deliverance. Promise was succeeded by 
prophecy, and as the coming day approached, 
prophecies were multiplied and spread abroad 
in every land, and preserved as sacred legends, 
inspiring desire and expectation in every 
breast. At length, upon the stillness of the 
midnight air, the voices of angelic choristers 
announced to the watching shepherds — senti- 
nels of the world — the glorious tidings, ''Unto 
you is born this day in the city of David, a 
Savior, which is Christ the Lord." A Savior 



i8o Pulpit Echoes. 

born! iPromise and prophecy are now ful- 
filled, desire and expectation are now realized! 
The great event in which has centered the 
hopes of the world for ages and generations 
has now transpired. Who would not join 
with the angels and sing, "Glory to God in the 
highest, peace on earth, and good-will among 
men?" 

*^ Light on thy hills, Jerusalem! 
The Savior now is born! 
And bright on Bethlehem's joyous plains, 
Breaks the first Christmas morn." 



The Advent of Christ i8i 



XL 

THE ADVENT OF CHRIST. 

THE PLACE OF HIS BIRTH. 
^^Now, when Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea.^"^ Matthew ii: I. 

IXAVING in a previous discourse con- 
I sidered the birth of Jesus, let us now 
notice, 

II. The place of his birth — ''In Bethlehem 
of Judea." 

Bethlehem was an inconsiderable town in 
Judea, about six miles south, or perhaps a 
little southwest, of Jerusalem. The name it- 
self literally signifies ''house of bread,'' and it 
was so named, as some assert, because it was 
situated in the midst of a very fertile and pro- 
ductive region. It might also, in a spiritual 
sense, be called "the house of bread," because 
Jesus, who styles himself "the bread of life — 
the true bread that cometh down from heaven,'' 
was there given to the world. Its original 



1 82 Pulpit Echoes, 

name was Ephrath, or Ephratah. It is so 
called six times in the Bible. It is first men- 
tioned by this name in connection with the 
death of Rachel,, the wife of Jacob, who was 
buried about two miles from Bethlehem, on the 
way to Jerusalem. While the mausoleum that 
marks the spot, and which is shown to travel- 
ers, is evidently of comparatively recent origin, 
yet all authorities agree that it marks the true 
site of her grave. The place is here desig- 
nated by the addition, "of Judea/' to distin- 
guish it from another town of the same name 
in Galilee, in the tribe of Zebulun, mentioned 
in the nineteenth chapter of Joshua. It is also 
called ''the cit}' of David," because it was the 
birthplace of David, king of Israel. 

There was a famous well of water at the 
gate of Bethlehem, of which David, in one of 
his fierce combats with the Philistines, desired 
to drink, and three of his mighty men broke 
through the host of the Philistines, and drew 
water out of the well, and brouo-ht it to David; 
but he refused to drink it, saving, ''Be it far 
from me, O Lord, that I should do this: is it 
not the blood of the men that went in jeopardy 
of their lives?" 

At the distance of an hour and a quarter's 



The Advent of Christ. 183 

journey southward from Bethlehem, it is sup- 
posed were located the famous fountains, pools, 
and gardens, which are said to have been the 
delight of King Solomon, and to which he is 
supposed to allude in Ecclesiastes, when he 
says, '' I made me gardens, and orchards, and I 
planted trees in them of all kinds of fruits. I 
made me pools of water, to water therewith 
the wood that bringeth forth trees/' These 
places are still shown to travelers, and are re- 
garded with a great deal of interest. 

Bethlehem is represented as now a consider- 
able place. Its inhabitants number between 
three and four thousand, and consist of Latin, 
Greek and Armenian Christians; the large ma- 
jority, however, belong to the Greek Church. 
Their complexion is represented as very dark, 
approaching almost to black. Many of them 
employ themselves in making crucifixes for 
travelers who visit the town. In the year of 
our Lord 325 the Empress Helena, mother of 
Constantine the Great, built a handsome church 
in the form of a cross over the supposed place 
of the nativity. It was greatly embellished 
afterward by Constantine, and remains to thc! 
present day. Connected with it are Latin, 
Greek and Armenian convents. In a portion 



184 Pulpit Echoes. 

of the crypt of this church St. Jerome resided 
for thirt}' years,, and here he wrote the \\A- 
gate, or Latin translation of the Bible, and 
various other works. 

It was predicted by the Prophet Micah 
that the Messiah should be born in Bethlehem 
Ephratah, so as to leave no doubt as to the 
place of his appearance. ''But thou, Bethle- 
hem Ephratah, though thou be little among 
the thousands of Judah, yet out of thee shall 
he come forth unto me that is to be ruler in 
Israel ; whose croinq-s forth have been from 
of old, from everlasting. Therefore, will he 
give them up until the time that she which 
travailed hath brouo-ht forth: then the rem- 
nant of his brethren shall return unto the chil- 
dren of Israel." This prophecy was uttered 
more than seven hundred years before the 
birth of Christ. That it refers to him can 
not be doubted : for it distinctly points out 
the two i::reat characteristics bv which he is 
distinguished, and which can not apply to any 
other — his divinity and his humanit}'. His 
'' goings forth " are represented as '' of old, 
from everlastino-," or as it is rendered in the 
margin, "from the days of eternit)\" He is 



The Advent of Christ. 185 

also represented as "brought forth'' — as a 

child born. 

That Christ was born in Bethlehem of 

Judea, we are assured by the evangelists 

Matthew and Luke. "Now/' says Matthew, 

" when Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea, 

in the days of Herod the King, behold, there 

came wise men from the east to Jerusalem, 

saying. Where is he that is born King of the 

Jews? for we have seen his star in the east, 

and are come to worship him. When Herod 

the King had heard these things, he was 

troubled, and all Jerusalem with him. And 

when he had gathered all the chief priests and 

scribes of the people together, he demanded 

of them where Christ should be born. And 

they said unto him. In Bethlehem of Judea; 

for thus it is written by the prophet. And 

thou, Bethlehem, in the land of Juda, art not 

the least among the princes of Juda, for out 

of thee shall come a Governor, that shall rule 

my people Israel. Then Herod, when he had 

privily called the wise men, inquired of them 

diligently what time the star appeared. And 

he sent them to Bethlehem, and said. Go and 

search diligently for the young child ; and 

16 



1 86 Pulpit Echoes, 

when ye have found him, bring me word again, 
that I may come and worship him also. When 
they had heard the king, they departed; and 
lo, the star, which they saw in the east, went 
before them, till it came and stood over where 
the young child was." Luke says, ''And it 
came to pass in those days, that there went 
out a decree from Caesar Augustus, that all the 
world [or all the land] should be taxed. (And 
this taxing was first made when Cyrenius was 
governor of Syria.) And all went to be taxed, 
every one into his own city. And Joseph also 
went up from Galilee, out of the city of Naza- 
reth, into Judea, unto the city of David, which 
is called Bethlehem (because he was of the 
house and lineage of David), to be taxed with 
Mary his espoused wife. And so it was, that, 
while they were there, the days were accom- 
plished that she should be delivered, and she 
brought forth her first-born son." 

This perhaps might be sufficient to show the 
fulfillment of the preceding prophecy in refer- 
ence to the place of the Messiah's birth, but as 
the subject is one of great importance, a more 
particular consideration of it will no doubt be 
interesting and profitable. 

The first thing that attracts our attention 



The Advent of Christ. 187 

here is the fact that Joseph and Mary dwelt 
in Nazareth, a city of GaHlee, in the tribe of 
Zebulun, seventy miles, according to some, and 
ninety miles, according to others, north of Je- 
rusalem. The inquiry, then, suggests itself. 
What was the occasion of their visit to Beth- 
lehem at this time — which was from seventy- 
six to ninety-six miles from their home? Luke 
furnishes us with an answer to this inquiry. 
He says, ''In those days there went out a 
decree from Caesar Augustus,'' the Roman 
Emperor, "that all the world"- — or as it should 
perhaps more properly be rendered, all the 
land — ''should be taxed." And Joseph went 
up from Nazareth to Bethlehem, "to be taxed 
with Mary his espoused wife." This tax or 
enrollment is supposed by learned men not to 
have embraced the whole of the Roman em- 
pire, but only the land of Judea. That the 
condition of the land of Judea at that time was 
such that a census could be made in it by vir- 
tue of a decree of Augustus, has been proven 
by Dr. Lardner beyond a reasonable doubt. ^ 
A census of the children of Israel had been 
made by Moses, and also by David. In those 

I Lard. Works, Vol. I. p. 283. 



1 88 Pulpit Echoes. 

enumerations, the males only, from twenty 
years old and upward, were enrolled. There 
was no account taken of the women and chil- 
dren, nor of the estates and possessions of the 
people. The principal object appears to have 
been to ascertain the number of men capable 
of performing military duty in case of necessity. 
When God commanded Moses to number the 
people, it showed that they were his subjects; 
and when David, without any divine command, 
numbered the people, they understood it as 
implying, in an offensive sense, their subjection 
to him, and on this account, no doubt, the en- 
rollment made by David was peculiarly obnox- 
ious to some of the tribes. A Roman census 
in Judea, while it showed their subjection to 
the imperial power, was, however, different in 
some respects from these. It consisted of two 
parts : first, the account which the people gave, 
under oath, of themselves and their estates, in- 
cluding the names of their parents, their own 
age, and the names of their wives and children; 
and, secondly, the value set upon their estates 
by the censor who took the account of them.^ 
The enrollment of the people furnished data 

I Lard. Works, Vol. I. pp. 273-4. 



The Advent of Christ. 189 

and formed a basis for the levying of troops, 
and the enrollment of property formed a basis 
for the levying of taxes. 

That such an enrollment was made in the 
land of Judea, at the time referred to, is sus- 
ceptible of satisfactory proof. Dr. Lardner 
thinks that Josephus, in the Eighteenth Book 
of his Antiquities of the Jews, where he speaks 
of the whole Jewish nation in the time of 
Herod the Great, taking an oath to be faithful 
to Caesar, and of above six thousand who re- 
fused to swear, the most guilty of whom, to- 
gether with those in Herod's own family who 
adhered to their teachings, were afterward put 
to death, refers to the census or enrollment 
here spoken of by St. Luke, and the massacre 
of the children by Herod, spoken of by St. 
Matthew.^ The fact of such an enrollment, or 
census, is established beyond question by the 
First Apology of Justin Martyr, presented to the 
Emperor and Senate of Rome, A. D. 140. He 
says in reference to Bethlehem, where Christ 
was born, ''Now there is a village in the land 
of the Jews, thirty-five stadia from Jerusalem, 
in which Jesus was born, as you can ascertain 
also from the registers of the taxino^ made 

I Lard. Works, Vol. I. p. 292, and on. 



iQO Ptdpit Echoes. 

under Cyrenius, your first Procurator in 
Judea/'^ Now we can not for a moment 
suppose that Justin Martyr would have re- 
ferred the Emperor and the Senate of Rome 
to their own pubHc records for the truth of his 
assertion in regard to the birthplace of Jesus, 
had he not been certain that the official reg- 
ister would confirm his statement. His testi- 
mony is corroborated by St. Clement of Alex- 
andria, who says, ''Our Lord was born in the 
eight-and-twentieth year, when they first or- 
dered a census to be made, in the time of 
Augustus." Julian the Apostate, one of the 
most bitter opponents of Christianity, speaks * . 
of it as a thing universally known. ''This 
Jesus,'' says he, "whom you extol, was one of 
Caesar's subjects. If you make a doubt of it, 
I will prove it to you by and by; though it *^ 
may as well be done now. For you say your- 
selves that he was enrolled with his father and 
mother in the time of Cyrenius."^ 

From these independent authorities, the 
fact of an enrollment or Roman census in 
Judea at the time specified, and also the en- 
rollment of Joseph and Mary, and the infant 
Jesus, is clearly established. 

I Justin Martyr, pp. 36-37. 2 Lard. Works, Vol. I. p. 271. 



The Advent of Christ. 191 

But as Joseph and Mary dwelt in Nazareth, 
the inquiry presents itself, Why did they per- 
form such a long, and, under the circumstances, 
difficult journey, to enroll themselves in Beth- 
lehem? Some have conjectured that there 
may have been some clause in the edict which 
required it. Though Joseph was a poor man, 
as appears from the lesser offering of a pair 
of turtle-doves, or two young pigeons, which 
he presented to the Lord, when the days of 
Mary's purification, according to the law, were 
accomplished; yet he may have owned some 
small piece of property in or near Bethlehem, 
and persons may have been required to enroll 
themselves where their estates were located. 
However this may be, Luke informs us that 
" all went to be taxed, every one into his own 
city.'' And Joseph with his wife went up from 
Nazareth to Bethlehem to be taxed, ''because 
he was of the house and lineage of David." 
While the evangelist has informed us of the 
occasion of Joseph's and Mary's visit to Beth- 
lehem, he here, no doubt, presents the princi- 
pal, if not the only, reason of it. It was the 
custom of the Jews when they were numbered 
to enter themselves according to their tribes 
and families. When God commanded Moses 



192 Pulpit Echoes. 

to number the people, he said, ''Take ye the 
sum of the children of Israel, after their fami- 
lies, by the house of their fathers/' And when 
David numbered the people, the enumeration 
was made in a similar manner. It was proba- 
bly owing to this custom that Joseph and Mary 
repaired to Bethlehem, " because they were of 
the house and lineage of David/' 

The land of Canaan had been divided 
among the children of Israel according to 
their tribes and families. No inheritance could 
be forfeited (except houses built in walled 
towns) beyond the year of jubilee. In the 
jubilee all possessions, however forfeited, or 
for whatever cause, returned to their original 
owners, or their lawful heirs. This peculiarity 
of the Jewish economy rendered it highly im- 
portant that they should preserve correct reg- 
isters of their descent, according to their re- 
spective tribes and families. The institution 
of the jubilee, however, did not originate the 
distinction of tribes. It had existed long be- 
fore. Dying Jacob blessed his twelve sons, 
and clearly intimated the existence of their de- 
scendants as distinct and separate communi- 
ties. Moreover, he distinctly foretold that the 
Messiah — the promised Seed — should descend 



The Advent of Christ. 193 

from Judah. In consequence of that predic- 
tion, which was afterward renewed and con- 
firmed, there were strong additional reasons 
for the tribe of Judah, particularly, to preserve 
correct registers of their descent. 

That such records had been preserved till 
after the birth of Jesus is evident from sev- 
eral considerations. In the first place, both 
Matthew and Luke have given us the geneal- 
ogy of Christ, tracing it through David to 
Abraham, and from Abraham to Adam. Dif- 
ficulties have been suggested in reference to 
these genealogical tables on other grounds, 
but it has never been shown that the Jews 
had lost the registers of their tribes and fami- 
lies, and that the apostles had not the neces- 
sary materials or data to enable them to give 
correctly the descent of Christ. Had the 
genealogies of the tribes been lost, this fact 
might have been conclusively shown by the 
enemies of Christianity at the time Matthew 
and Luke published their Gospels, and this 
would have so clearly convicted them of an 
attempt to deceive, as to destroy their au- 
thority and influence with the people. That 
such an objection was never presented by the 
Jews or early opposers of Christianity, shows 

17 



194 Pulpit Echoes: 

that the materials which were necessary to cor- 
rectly construct the genealogy of Christ then 
existed. Such being the case, we can not for 
a moment suppose that the apostles were so 
stupid as to construct incorrect tables of 
Christ's descent, when the materials were at 
hand from which to construct correct ones, 
thereby subjecting themselves to easy detec- 
tion and exposure. Whatever difficulties may 
exist between Matthew and Luke, in this par- 
ticular, can not be real, but only apparent, and 
must arise from our ignorance of facts then 
well known, and which were sufficient to rec- 
oncile those apparent discrepancies which seem 
to exist between them. 

That those records still existed is evident 
from other considerations. Pious Anna, who 
waited in the temple, looking for the consola- 
tion of Israel, we are told, was the daughter 
of Phanuel, of the tribe of Aser. Paul tells us 
that he was of the tribe of Benjamin. And 
it is said that Barnabas was of the tribe of 
Levi. Paul and Barnabas were foreign Jews; 
the former was born in Tarsus, a city of Cil- 
icia, and the latter w^as born in Cyprus, an 
island of the Mediterranean. Yet, notwith- 
standing their foreign birth, it appears that 



The Advent of Christ 195 

they carefully preserved their genealogies ; and 
we may justly conclude that the native-born 
Jews were equally, if not more careful in this 
respect. Josephus, the Jewish historian, who 
was born in the tenth year of the reign of 
Archelaus, after stating the time of his birth, 
and the names of a number of his ancestors, 
says, ''Thus have I given an account of my 
family, as I have found it in the public records/' 
From the preceding facts and considera- 
tions, it appears that in the birth of Jesus, in 
Bethlehem of Judea, there was a most remark- 
able providence. The prophet, long years 
before, had pointed out Bethlehem specially 
as the place of the Messiah's birth. When 
the period drew near for the fulfillment of that 
prophecy, Joseph and Mary resided in Naza- 
reth, a distant town in an adjoining province. 
But a decree of Caesar Augustus required a 
census to be made in the whole land of Judea; 
and the custom and law of the Jews required 
them to enroll themselves according to their 
tribes and families, correct registers of which, 
for various considerations, were carefully pre- 
sented. The former was the occasion, and the 
latter the reason, of Joseph's and Mary's visit 
to Bethlehem. All these circumstances con- 



196 Pulpit Echoes. 

curred, in a most remarkable manner, to secure 
in the birth of Jesus the fulfillment of that 
ancient prediction which pointed out Bethle- 
hem as the place of his birth; and this con- 
currence presents one of the strongest reasons 
for faith in him as the coming Deliverer — 
the promised Seed. 

There is another point here which deserves 
attention. It is this: The existence, for cen- 
turies, of Micah's -prediction in reference to the 
place of the Messiah's birth was unquestion- 
able. It was important that the fulfillment of 
that prediction should be equally well estab- 
lished. God secured this end by the enroll- 
ment which was made in the land of Judea, in 
compliance with the imperial edict of Caesar 
Augustus. By this means the fact of the birth 
of Jesus, in Bethlehem of Judea, was not only 
preserved according to the custom of the Jews, 
but was also preserved in the public records 
of the Roman Empire. Hence we find the 
early Christian fathers triumphantly appealing 
to those records for a confirmation of the fact. 
Even Julian the Apostate, a bitter opposer of 
Christianity, and who was himself Emperor of 
Rome, tacitly admits its truth, but endeavors 
to detract from the character of Christ by 



The Advent of Christ. 197 

declaring that he was, as appeared from the 
fact of his enrollment, a subject of Caesar. 

Here, then, we behold prophecy, in the 
fullness of time, transformed into history; and 
the expectation of a coming Savior displaced 
by the joy of a Savior to come. 

When the law was delivered on Sinai, the 
mount was wrapped in tempest and in flame; 
but when Jesus was born in Bethlehem, its 
plains were vocal with the songs of angels, 
and the manger was lighted with a soft-beam- 
ing star. 

" Celestial choirs from courts above, 
Shed sacred glories there, 
And angels, with their sparkling lyres, 
Make music on the air. 

" The answering hills of Palestine, 
Send back the glad reply; 
And greet, from all their holy heights, 
The Day-Spring from on high. 

" O'er the blue depths of Galilee, 
There comes a holier calm, 
And Sharon waves, in solemn praise. 
Her silent groves of palm.'' 



igS Pulpit Echoes. 



XII. 
THE ADVENT OF CHRIST. 

THE TIME OF HIS BIRTH. 

^^N(rd), "ujlieji Jesus was born in BethleJiem of ytcdea^ in the days of 
Herod iJie king. ^'' Matthew ii: I. 

IN the further consideration of this subject, 
let us notice, 
III. The time when Jesus was born — *'In 
the days of Herod the king." 

In order properly to understand this part 
of the subject it will be necessary to briefly 
review the history of the Jews from the Baby- 
lonian captivity. 

Zedekiah, it will be remembered, was the 
last king of Judah. In the eleventh year of 
his reign he was carried away captive, with 
the principal inhabitants of Judea, by Nebu- 
chadnezzar, king of Babylon, and Jerusalem 
and the temple were pillaged and destroyed 



The Advent of Christ. 199 

by Nebuzaradan, captain of his guard. The 
captivity of Judah in Babylon continued for 
seventy years, until the Babylonian or Chal- 
dean empire was overthrown by Cyrus, the 
founder of the Persian monarchy. Cyrus, in 
the first year of his reign, issued a proclama- 
tion for the return of the Jews to Jerusalem, 
and for the rebuilding of the temple. The 
work, however, which was but fairly begun 
during the lifetime of Cyrus, was interrupted 
several years during the reigns of his succes- 
sors, through the misrepresentations of the 
Samaritans or Cuthians, who were the pro- 
fessed and perpetual enemies of the Jews. 
In consequence of these interruptions, the 
temple ,was not finished till the seventh year 
of Darius Hystaspes ; and the walls of Jeru- 
salem were' not rebuilt till the time of Artax- 
erxes, nor was the city fully restored till the 
reign of Darius Nothus, more than one hun- 
dred and twenty years from the issuing of 
the decree for the return of the children of 
Israel by Cyrus. 

The Jews, after their return from Babylon, 
remained in subjection to the kings of Persia, 
but under the local jurisdiction of the high 
priests, until that kingdom was overthrown by 



200 Pulpit Echoes. 

Alexander the Great. After his death they 
were sometimes protected and sometimes op- 
pressed by the neighboring kings of Egypt 
and Syria, who successively became their mas- 
ters. Antiochus Epiphanes, one hundred and 
seventy years before Christ, persecuted them 
in a most cruel manner, and forbade them 
celebrating the rights of their religion. He 
plundered Jerusalem, slew eighty thousand of 
the people, erected a statue of Jupiter Olym- 
pus in the temple, and further profaned it by 
offering a sacrifice of swine's flesh upon the 
altar. This so incensed the Jews that they re- 
belled against Antiochus, and under the leader- 
ship of Judas Maccabeus defeated his armies, 
regained possession of Jerusalem, purified the 
temple, and restored the ancient worship. 

The Jewish state remained in this condition 
till the time of Pompey the Great, who de- 
prived Hyrcanus, the then reigning prince, of 
his crown, but left him in possession of the 
priesthood, and made the Jews tributary to 
the Romans, sixty-three years before Christ. 

Julius Caesar, having defeated Pompey, con- 
tinued Hyrcanus in the priesthood, and be- 
stowed the civil government of Judea upon 
Antipas or Antipater, an Idumean, and father 



The Advent of Christ. * 20 1 

of Herod the Great. Antipater divided Judea 
between his two sons, Phasael and Herod. 
To the former he gave the government of 
Jerusalem, and to the latter the government of 
Galilee. Mark Antony ratified the regulations 
of Antipater, and gave his sons the title of 
tetrarchs or princes. It was not long, how- 
ever, till Phasael, and also Hyrcanus the high 
priest, were taken prisoners and carried away 
captives by the Parthians ; whereupon Herod, 
supposing all was lost, fled to Mark Antony 
to Rome, intending to ask the bestowment of 
the civil government of Judea upon Aristobu- 
lus, grandson of Hyrcanus, of the Asmonean 
family; but through the favor of Antony, and 
from reasons of state, the Senate of Rome 
bestowed the government upon Herod him- 
self, with the title of king. 

Herod, although reputed a Jew, was not 
of Jewish extraction, but an Idumean or Edo- 
mite. The Idumeans during the Babylonian 
captivity took possession of a considerable 
portion of the southern part of Judea, embrac- 
ing the whole of the lot of Simeon. Hyr- 
canus, in the early part of his administration 
of the affairs of Judea, conquered the Idumeans 
and compelled them to either abandon the 



202 ' Pulpit Echoes. 

country or embrace the Jewish faith. They 
chose the latter alternative, and from that time 
they were considered as Jews, and finally were 
absorbed and entirely lost sight of among the 
Jewish people. 

Herod was a cruel prince, and committed 
many acts of the greatest atrocity during his 
reign. Under the influence of jealousy and 
passion he put his own wife and several of 
his children to death; and even attempted 
greater acts of cruelty which he was unable 
to execute. 

If there a\^s any redeeming trait in his 
character, as a ruler, it was his love of magnif- 
icent and extensive buildings and architectural 
adornments. This disposition he gratified by 
founding and repairing several cities with great 
munificence. The crowning glory of his reign, 
in this respect, was the repairing and adorn- 
ing of the. temple in Jerusalem, on which it 
is said he employed eighteen thousand men 
for nine successive years. This was an un- 
dertaking of great magnitude, and was prose- 
cuted with commendable zeal. Although it 
was principally completed in Herod's lifetime, 
yet it was not entirely finished, but continued 
to be adorned and beautified for several years 



The Advent of Christ. 203 

after his death. This explains the declaration 
of the Jews to Christ, more than thirty years 
after the death of Herod, that the temple had 
been forty and six years in building. 

Herod reigned, from the time he was de- 
clared king of Judea by the Romans, thirty- 
seven years; and it is generally supposed that 
Christ was born in the last year of his reign. 

The time of the Savior's birth, considered 
merely as an independent historical fact, is 
important, but its chief importance is derived 
from the evidence it affords, as a fulfillment 
of ancient prophecies, of his divine character 
and mission. This is the great point in which 
we are especially interested. That the prom- 
ised Messiah appeared before the time of 
Herod the Great has never been claimed; and 
that he could not have appeared, in harmony 
with the ancient prophecies, at any period 
considerably subsequent to his time, can be 
made to appear beyond a rational doubt. 
For this purpose I shall briefly direct your 
attention to some of the ancient prophecies 
which clearly point out the time of the Savior's 
appearance. 

Among the most important of these is the 
prediction of dying Jacob. The patriarch, 



204 Pulpit Echoes, 

conscious that the time of his departure was 
at hand, and that he would soon be numbered 
with his fathers, and being endued with the 
spirit of prophecy, called unto him his sons, 
and said, ''Gather yourselves together, that I 
may tell you that which shall befall you in 
the last days;'' and having constituted them 
into twelve distinct tribes, he pointed out to 
them the most important events which should 
characterize their future history. 

Let us notice particularly the prediction in 
reference to Judah. It is contained in these 
words: "Judah, thou art he whom thy brethren 
shall praise ; thy hand shall be in the neck of 
thine enemies ; thy father s children shall bow 
down before thee. Judah is a lion's whelp; 
from the prey, my son, thou art gone up: he 
stooped down, he couched as a young lion: 
who shall rouse him up? The scepter shall 
not depart from Judah, nor a lawgiver from 
between his feet, until Shiloh come: and unto 
him shall the gathering of the people be: 
binding his foal unto the vine, and his ass's 
colt unto the choice vine; he washed his gar- 
ments in wine, and his clothes in the blood of 
grapes. His eyes shall be red with wine, and 
his teeth white with milk." 



The Advent of Christ 205 

The two first verses in this passage pre- 
sent, under highly figurative language, the 
prosperity and eminence of the tribe of Judah, 
in its different degrees of advancement and 
power, represented as a lion's whelp, as a 
full-grown lion, as an old lion fierce and strong. 
To this description the character of that tribe 
fully conformed. The tribe of Judah was the 
first whose hands were on the necks of their 
enemies, and who conquered a possession in 
the land of Canaan. Under David, who was 
raised from this tribe to be king of Israel, the 
enemies of his people were subdued round 
about, and he exultingly exclaimed, apparently 
in reference to this very passage, ''Thou hast 
given me the necks of mine enemies, that I 
might destroy them that hate me." A lion 
was the standard of Judah, as emblematical 
of his strength. And Christ, in view of his 
all-conquering power, is called in the Apoca- 
lypse the "Lion of the tribe of Judah.'' 

There may be an allusion in the last two 
verses of this passage to Christ's triumphant 
entry into Jerusalem, like a king, ''riding upon 
an ass, and upon a colt, the foal of an ass;" 
but the ultimate reference, from the last clause 
of the tenth verse, is to his second coming as 



2o6 Pulpit Echoes. 

'' King of kings and Lord of lords/' to crush 
his enemies, and redeem and save his people. 
The Prophet Isaiah refers no doubt to the 
same event in the sixty-third chapter of his 
prophecy: "Who is this that cometh from 
Edom, with the dyed garments from Bozrah? 
this that is glorious in his apparel, traveling 
in the greatness of his strengthi ? I that speak 
in righteousness, mighty to save. Wherefore 
art thou red in thine apparel, and thy gar- 
ments like him that treadeth in the wine-fat? 
I have trodden the wine-press alone ; and of 
the people there were none with me : for I 
will tread them in mine anger, and trample 
them in my fury, and their blood shall be 
sprinkled upon my garments, and I will stain 
all my raiment. For the day of vengeance is 
in mine heart, and the year of my redeemed 
is come.'' 

The middle verse of this passage, however, 
refers to a period previous to this, and can 
only, with propriety, be applied to the first 
advent of Christ. "The scepter shall not de- 
part from Judah, nor a lawgiver from between 
his feet, until Shiloh come." 

By the term Shiloh we understand the 
Messiah. This term is variously rendered by 



The Advent of Christ 207 

learned men. Some understand it to signify 
''his son," and in this sense it points out the 
Messiah, who was both Judah's son and 
David's Lord. Others paraphrase it, ''whose 
it is.'' In this sense it pre-eminently applies 
to Christ, to whom shall be given "dominion, 
and glory, and a kingdom," "and whose right 
it is." Others, again, render it, "the sent;" 
hence Christ is called "the Apostle and 
High Priest of our profession ;" others still 
read it, "until the peacemaker come." This 
also applies with the strictest propriety to the 
Messiah, the "Prince of Peace," whose voice 
was not to be heard in the street, and who 
should be the restorer of peace between God 
and man. In whichever of these senses the 
word is understood, it applies equally well to 
the Messiah. 

Understanding by the "Shiloh," then, the 
Messiah, the time of his appearance is clearly 
indicated. The scepter was not to depart 
from Judah, nor a lawgiver from between his 
feet until he should come. 

By "scepter" here, we understand distinc- 
tion as a tribe. Jacob had constituted his 
descendants into twelve distinct tribes, of 
which Judah was evidently the chief. This 



2o8 Pulpit Echoes. 

distinction as a tribe Judah then possessed, 
and of it Jacob evidently speaks; and this 
distinction on the part of Judah was not to 
be destroyed until the Messiah should come. 
That Jacob does not here refer to the regal 
power of his descendants, in the capacity of 
a distinct nationality, is evident from the fact 
that Saul, their first king, was not called to 
the throne for more than six hundred years 
after this prediction was uttered. And from 
the terms of the prediction itself, it is evident 
that it does not refer to something which was 
possessed by all the tribes in common, but to 
that which properly and distinctively belonged 
to Judah. Besides, we can not apply it to the 
royal authority of the Jewish people, for that 
had departed from them more than five hun- 
dred years before the coming of Christ, when 
Judah was carried away captive into Babylon. 
The import of this prediction, then, most ob- 
viously is, that Judah should remain a distinct 
tribe, retaining its genealogies and registers 
of descent, and tribal authority, until the Mes- 
siah should come. 

The term " lawgiver '' can not be applied 
here in its highest sense to denote one who 
makes or enacts laws ; but in an inferior sense. 



The Advent of Christ. 209 

to denote one who rules, judges, or interprets 
law. That it can not be understood of a law- 
giver, in the highest sense, appears from the 
fact that none of the tribes of Israel had 
any right to enact laws ; God was their only 
lawgiver, and by his laws even the king was 
to be governed. But in an inferior sense, 
every tribe had its lawgivers, rulers, judges, 
or interpreters of the law, from whose mouth 
it was received by the people. 

According to this interpretation, which is 
regarded as strictly just, this prediction was 
literally and exactly fulfilled. Judah remained 
a distinct tribe, retaining its genealogies or 
registers of descent, and its rulers, judges, 
or interpreters of the law, until Christ — the 
Shiloh — the promised Messiah, appeared. But 
in a short time after Christ was crucified the 
Romans came and took away their place and 
nation ; Jerusalem and the temple were de- 
stroyed ; and not only Judah, to whom the 
pre-eminence had been given by dying Jacob, 
but also the remnants of the other tribes were 
scattered abroad and confounded, so that no 
Jew can at this day correctly and authorita- 
tively trace his genealogy to any particular 
tribe For more than eighteen hundred years 



18 



2IO Ptdpit Echoes. 

the Jews have been a people ^'scattered and 
peeled/' without an altar or a temple, without 
a scepter or a king. 

As it has never been asserted that the 
Messiah appeared before the time of Herod 
the Great, and as it is evident from this proph- 
ecy that he can not have appeared at any 
period much subsequent to his time, we per- 
ceive that both the prophecy and the his- 
tory point us nearly, if not exactly, to "the 
days of Herod the king,'' as the time of his 
appearance. 

It was predicted by the Prophet Haggai 
that the Messiah should come while the second 
temple, built by Zerrubabel, was still standing. 

On the return of the Jews from their 
captivity in Babylon, they proceeded, under 
the authority of Cyrus, to rebuild and restore 
the temple in Jerusalem. When its founda- 
tion was laid, many of the young men shouted 
aloud for joy, ''and they sang together by 
course in praising and giving thanks unto the 
Lord. But many of the priests and Levites 
and chief of the fathers, who were ancient men, 
that had seen the first house, when the foun- 
dation of this house was laid," perceiving how 
far it would probably come short of the beauty 



The Advent of Christ. 211 

and glory of the former, "wept with a loud 
voice/' In consequence of this, and the many 
difficulties with which they were surrounded, 
and the great opposition with which they had 
to contend, the people were discouraged, the 
building proceeded slowly, an<i was frequently 
attended with interruptions and delays. Under 
these circumstances the Prophet Haggai was 
sent to reprove them for their negligence, 
and to excite them to greater diligence in the 
work; and as the greatest incentive that he 
could present to their minds, he assured them 
that, notwithstanding their fears, the glory of 
this latter house should exceed the glory of 
the former: *'For thus saith the Lord of hosts. 
Yet once, it is a little while, and I will shake 
the heavens, and the earth, and the sea, and 
the dry. land; and I will shake all nations, 
and the desire of all nations shall come: and 
I will fill this house with my glory, saith the 
Lord of hosts. The silver is mine, and the 
gold is mine, saith the Lord of hosts. The 
glory of this latter house shall be greater than 
of the former, saith the Lord of hosts : and in 
this place will I give peace, saith the Lord of 
hosts.'' 

It is obvious that the prophet here speaks 



212 Pidpit Echoes, 

of the house which was then building, in con- 
trast with that erected by Solomon. The 
glory of the second temple can not refer to 
its magnificence and architectural adornments, 
for in these respects, though greatly enlarged 
and beautified by Herod, it was still inferior 
to the first temple, erected by Solomon. 
Besides, the Jews themselves admit that what 
was the main glory of the first temple was 
wanting in the second, namely, the ark of 
the covenant and the mercy-seat which w^as 
upon it, the shechinah or symbol of the divine 
presence, the Urim and Thummim, the holy 
fire upon the altar, and the spirit of prophecy. 
By the ''desire of all nations" we under- 
stand the Messiah — the promised "Seed," in 
whom all the families of the earth should be 
blessed, and of whom the world was in a state 
of expectancy when Christ appeared. "This 
is indeed acknowledged," says the learned Mr. 
Frey, "by some of the ancient Jewish writers, 
but the modern rabbins, to evade the argu- 
ment in favor of the opinion that the Messiah 
must have come already, will persuade us that 
by the 'desire of all nations,' is meant the 
* desirable things,' such as gold and silver, 
as presents to be brought into the temple. 



The Advent of Christ. 213 

But this opinion is contrary to the grammatical 
construction of the text; foreign to the design 
of the prediction; utterly unworthy of the 
solemn expression, 'thu3 saith the Lord of 
hosts/ repeated so often in the text; far too 
low for the circumstances mentioned, to usher 
in the coming of the Messiah, as the shaking 
of the heavens and the earth, etc.; and is an 
opinion contrary to facts, for far greater pres- 
ents were brought to Solomon's temple tha^ 
to this."^ 

The glory of the latter house, then, to which 
the prophet here refers, must be understood 
of the appearance of the Messiah, the ''Desire 
of all nations'' in it, in harmony with the dec- 
laration of the Prophet Malachi: "The Lord 
whom ye seek, shall suddenly come to his 
temple, even the messenger of the covenant 
whom ye delight in: he shall come, saith the 
Lord of hosts." This was the glory for which 
good old Simeon waited in the temple, and 
when he saw the infant Jesus, he said, ''Lord, 
now lettest thou thy servant depart in peace, 
according to thy word: for mine eyes have 
seen thy salvation, which thou hast prepared 
before the face of all people; a light to lighten 

I Jos. and Ben., Vol. I. p. 189. 



214 Pidpit Echoes. 

the Gentiles, and the glory of thy people 
Israel." 

The conclusion to which we are conducted, 
then, is this: That the Messiah must have ap- 
peared at or near the time specified in the 
text, for he was to appear while the second 
temple was standing; but Jerusalem and the 
temple were destroyed by Titus, a few years 
after the death of Christ; therefore he must 
have appeared before that time, or else these 
predictions can never be fulfilled. But in 
Jesus Christ, who was born ''in the days of 
Herod the king,'* we behold the fulfillment 
of these predictions ; and they present to our 
minds convincing evidence that he was the 
promised Messiah — the Sent of God. 

Another important and minute prediction 
of the coming of Christ is contained in the 
prophecy of Daniel. '' Seventy weeks are 
determined upon thy people and upon thy 
holy city, to finish the transgression, and to 
make an end of sins, and to make reconcili- 
ation for iniquity, and to bring in everlasting 
righteousness, and to seal up the vision and 
prophecy, and to anoint the Most Holy. 
Know^ therefore and understand, that from the 
going forth of the commandment to restore 



The Advent of Christ. 2 1 5 

and rebuild Jerusalem, unto the Messiah the 
Prince, shall be seven weeks, and threescore and 
two weeks: the street shall be built again, and 
the walls, even in troublous times. And after 
threescore and two weeks shall Messiah be 
cut off, but not for himself; and the people of 
the prince that shall come shall destroy the . 
city and sanctuary; and the end thereof shall 
be with a flood, and unto the end of the war 
desolations are determined. And he shall con- 
firm the covenant with many for one week: 
and in the midst of the week he shall cause 
the oblation and sacrifice to cease, and for 
the overspreading of abominations he shall 
make it desolate, even until the consumma- 
tion, and that determined shall be poured upon 
the desolate." 

That this prediction refers to Christ is evi- 
dent from the fact that in him, and in no one 
else, all the important ends here proposed are 
fully accomplished. He, by the influence of 
his Spirit and truth, has restrained transgres- 
sion, made an end of sin-offerings, expiated by 
his own death the sins of the people, brought 
in the ^'Righteous One of Ages," completed 
the revelation of divine mercy and truth, and is 
anointed Prophet, Priest, and King of our race. 



21 6 Pulpit Echoes. 

The time of Christ's appearance is here 
pointed out with great precision. The Jews 
were in the habit of computing time by weeks 
of years, a day representing a year. Hence 
Laban said to Jacob, ''Fulfill her week;" that 
is, "serve with me seven other years.'' The 
jubilee was also reckoned in the same man- 
ner, and occurred at the end of seven weeks 
of years. That the same method of compu- 
tation is here employed all are agreed. 

The whole period of time embraced in this 
prediction, at least so far as it refers directly 
to the Messiah, is seventy weeks, or four 
hundred and ninety years. This number is 
divided into three periods, consisting of seven 
weeks, threescore and two weeks, and one 
week, in consequence of some important event 
which should occur at the close of each period. 

The commencerhent of the whole period is 
fixed at the time of the going forth of the 
commandment to restore and rebuild Jerusa- 
lem. But as there were four decrees issued 
by the kings of Persia for this purpose — one 
by Cyrus, one by Darius Hystaspes, and two 
by Artaxerxes Longiminus, the difficulty is to 
determine to which of these decrees this pre- 
diction refers. The harmony of succeeding 



The Advent of Christ. 217 

events with the prediction should, no doubt, 
determine this point. Dean Prideaux, whom 
Dr. Adam Clarke regarded as the most clear 
and satisfactory writer whom he had con- 
sulted on this subject, fixes the beginning of 
the seventy weeks in the seventh year of 
Artaxerxes Longiminus, who in that year sent 
Ezra to govern Judea, and to restore Jerusa- 
lem, and the civil and religious constitutions 
of the Jews. From the seventh year of Ar- 
taxerxes Longiminus to the fifteenth year of 
Darius Nothus, when the work commenced 
by Ezra was completed by Nehemiah, was 
precisely seven weeks, or forty-nine years. 
This was an exact fulfillment of the events 
predicted in the first part of this important 
prophecy. 

From the fifteenth year of Darius Nothus, 
to the twenty-sixth year of the vulgar Christian 
era, corresponding to the four thousand seven 
hundred and thirty-ninth year of the Julian 
period, when the ministry of the Gospel was 
commenced by the preaching of John the Bap- 
tist, the forerunner of Christ, was precisely 
" threescore and two weeks,'' or four hundred 
and thirty-four years. That the kingdom of 
Christ in some sense dates from the com- 

19 



21 8 Pulpit Echoes. 

mencement of the ministry of John, Is estab- 
lished by Christ himself, for he declares, ''The 
law and the prophets were until John : since 
-that time the kingdom of God is preached, 
and every man presseth into it/' 

John exercised his ministry during the space 
of about three years and a half,^ and toward 
the close of the twenty-ninth year of the vul- 
gar Christian era he was imprisoned by Herod 
Antipas, son of Herod the Great by Cleo- 
patra, and afterward beheaded, and Christ 
personally appeared in the ministry of his 
Gospel, and carried it on for a period of about 
three years and a half more, when he was 
condemned and crucified under Pontius Pilate, 
the Roman procurator in Judea. 

From the close of the second period of 
sixty-two weeks, when John commenced his 
ministry, till the crucifixion of Christ, em- 
braced a period of one week, or seven years, 
making up, with the preceding numbers, the 
whole period of Daniel's seventy weeks, or 
four hundred and ninety years. " Most learned 
men," says Dr. Adam Clarke, ''agree that the 
death of Christ happened at the passover in 
the month Nisan, in the four thousand seven 

I Prideaux's Conn., Vol. I. p. 246. 



The Advent of Christ. 219 

hundred and forty-sixth year of the Julian 
period. Four hundred and ninety years reck- 
oned back from the above year, leads us to 
the month Nisan, in the four thousand two 
hundred and fifty-sixth year of the same 
period, the very month and year in which 
Ezra had his commission from Artaxerxes 
Longiminus, to restore and rebuild Jerusalem/' 
Now if we deduct the age of Christ at the 
time of his death from the completion of 
Daniel's four hundred and ninety years, as 
shown above, it will carry us back to the last 
year of the reign of *' Herod the king," in 
which Jesus was born. 

It appears, then, that the whole of this pre- 
diction, so far as it relates to the first advent 
of the Messiah, has been literally and exactly 
fulfilled in every particular. Amid the pre- 
vailing skepticism of the present day, when the 
truth of our holy Christianity is assailed on 
every hand, it is important that we sometimes 
review the grounds of our religious belief, and 
thus fortify our faith in Christ, as the promised 
Deliverer. 

When we see these predictions in reference 
to Christ, uttered so many hundred years 
before his birth, literally fulfilled in him, our 



2 20 Pulpit Echoes. 

faith is strengthened, our hopes are confirmed, 
and in him of manger-birth we hail our 
Savior and our God. 

" To hail thy rising, Son of Life, 
The gathering nations come, 
Joyous as when the reapers bear. 
Their harvest treasures home. 

"To us the promised child is born, 
To us the Son is given. 
Him shall the tribes of earth obey, 
And all the hosts of heaven." 



The Advent of Christ. 221 



XIII. 

THE ADVENT OF CHRIST. 

V 

CIRCUMSTANCES ATTENDING HIS BIRTH. 

''^Now, when Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea, in the days of 
Herod the king, behold, there came wise men froin the east to yerusalein^ 
saying. Where is he that is born King of the Jews ? for we have seen 
his star in the east, and are come to worship him.'''' Matthew ii : 1-2. 



H 



AVING noticed the birth of Jesus, the 

place of his birth, and the time of his 

birth, I now proceed to notice, 

IV. Some circumstances attending his birth 

— "There came wise men from the east to 

Jerusalem.'* 

This topic presents a fruitful theme for 
speculation, but does not conduct us to such 
important practical results as the preceding 
parts of the subject which have engaged our 
attention. Yet this portion of the divine word, 
as well as the former, was, no doubt, recorded 
for our instruction, and by a proper improve- 



2 22 Pulpit Echoes. 

ment of it, we may receive edification and 
comfort. 

The first inquiry which here presents itself 
to our minds in reference to these '' wise men '' 
is, Who they were, and whence they came? 
Our information on this point is very Hmited. 
The original word, here rendered "wise men,'' 
is Mago% and from the same root comes our 
English word magician, which we invariably 
use in a bad sense, to denote a necromancer, 
sorcerer or sorceress. The word was not 
originally used in this sense, but in the lapse 
of time, like many other words, it changed its 
meaning, and finally came to be applied almost 
exclusively to all who were attached to occult 
science. 

It was formerly the name of the learned 
class of the Parsees, an ancient sect among 
the Persians. Horn was reputed the original 
founder of the Parsee or Magian system of 
religion ; but it received its highest develop- 
ment and perfection from Zerdusht or Zoroas- 
ter, who is supposed to have flourished about 
the time of Cyrus, and who has long been 
reputed the author of the Ze7tdavesta, the 
sacred book of the Parsees. 

The religion of the Parsees was originally 



The Advent of Christ. • 223 

a system of dualism. They held to the exist- 
ence of two creative principles, light and 
darkness, which were in continual conflict with 
each other, and which were the cause of all 
things. The former of these they denomi- 
nated Ormuzd, whom they regarded as the 
author of all good; and the latter they de- 
nominated Ahrimmt, whom they regarded as 
the author of all evil. 

Zoroaster introduced a new principle into 
their religion, and taught the existence of one 
Supreme Being, who created light and dark- 
ness; and from these two, according to his 
own good pleasure, arose all other things. 

Prideaux presents numerous arguments to 
prove that Zoroaster was originally a Jew; 
and conjectures that he was a servant of the 
Prophet Daniel, and that all the improvements 
which he introduced into the Magian religion 
were derived from the Hebrew Scriptures, with 
which he thinks he was undoubtedly acquainted. 

The Magians always worshiped before their 
sacred fires, which Zoroaster pretended at first 
to have brought from heaven, and which were 
kept continually burning in their temples, and 
before the rising sun, which they called Mith- 
ras, with their faces toward the east. In con- 



2 24 Pulpit Echoes, 

sequence of this they have frequently been 
represented as ''fire-worshipers," though this 
they denied, and asserted that they only wor- 
shiped God, vrho dwelt pre-eminently in the 
fire ; and as the sun was the most perfect fire, 
they regarded that as his throne. 

They also believed in a coming Savior, 
whom thev denominated Sosws/i, bv whom 
Ahriman and the devils should be over- 
thrown, the dead raised up, and angels and 
men judged; and that the dominion of Or- 
iniLzd should ultimately be extended in a 
universal kinofdom of liorht. 

Olshausen thinks that the narrative in the 
text may most easily be "explained, if we re- 
gard the jNIagi as adherents of the Zoroastrian 
worship of light, which before the time of 
Christ was widely spread through western 
Asia." Their expectation of a coming Sosiosh 
or Savior, their belief that the good principle 
resided in fire or light, and consequently their 
observation of the heavenly bodies, considered 
in connection with this whole passage, give 
considerable plausibiHty to this conjecture. 
Besides, Persia, which was the principal seat 
of the Parsee or ^laman relio-ion, was situated 

o o 

toward the rising sun, or east from Judea. 



The Advent of Christ. 225 

Other conjectures have been presented 
upon this subject. ''The Jews beHeved/' says 
Whitby, " that there were prophets in the king- 
dom of Saba and Arabia, who were of the 
posterity of Abraham by Keturah ; and that 
they taught in the name of God what they had 
received in tradition from the mouth of Abra- 
ham/* "That many Jews,'' says Dr. Adam 
Clarke, " were mixed with that people, there 
is little doubt; and that these eastern Magi, 
or philosophers, or astrologers, or whatever 
else they were, might have been originally of 
that class, there is room to believe. These, 
knowing the promise of the Messiah, were 
now, probably, like other believing Jews, wait- 
ing for the consolation of Israel." Others, 
however, reject the idea that they were Jews. 
"This we are sure of,'' says Matthew Henry, 
"that they were Gentiles, and not belonging 
to the commonwealth of Israel." Burkit sup- 
poses that they were Chaldean, Arabian, or 
Persian astronomers, who, as the first-fruits of 
the Gentiles, seek after Christ, while the Jews, 
his own peculiar people, rejected him. Accord- 
ing to the tradition of the Romish Church, which 
can only be regarded as a frivolous legend, 
these Magi were three kings, by the names of 



2 26 Pulpit Echoes, 

Caspar, Melchoir, and Balthazar, ''The early 
church/' says Olshausen, "looked upon these 
Magi as the representatives of the heathen 
world, which, in them, offered its homage to 
the Lord." 

It is not difficult for us to conceive how a 
knowledge of the coming Savior might have 
been diffused through most of the countries 
of the east. Abraham dwelt in Ur of the 
Chaldees, on the eastern border of Arabia, 
when God called him to leave his country 
and his kindred, and go unto the place that 
he should show him. Balaam was a native of 
Pethor, in Mesopotamia, on the northeast 
border of Arabia, and, no doubt, resided there 
after his famous prediction in reference to 
Jacob. It is quite probable that the promise 
made to Abraham, that in his seed all the 
nations of the earth should be blest, had been 
preserved in tradition by the Arabians and 
Chaldeans among whom he dwelt ; and from 
the terms of the promise they would feel that 
they, as well as the Jews, were interested in 
its fulfillment, and, consequently, would be ex- 
pecting the coming of the promised one. The 
prediction of Balaam, uttered several hundred 
years afterward, in all probability had been 



The Advent of Christ 227 

preserved in the same way, and increased their 
desire and expectation, and although ignorant 
of the true character of the coming one, they 
were looking for his appearance. In addition 
to this, the dispersion of the ten tribes of 
Israel in countries of the east, and the captivity 
of Judah in Babylon, together with the differ- 
ent decrees issued by Cyrus, Darius, and 
Artaxerxes, in favor of the Jews, which must 
have brought them into notice, afforded them 
an opportunity of widely diffusing among those 
nations a knowledge of their expectation in 
reference to the coming Messiah. And as the 
Spirit and grace of God were not confined to 
the Jews, as appears from the call and accept- 
ance of the Gentiles afterward, we may well 
suppose that the knowledge of Christ thus 
communicated, though imperfectly understood, 
was treasured up in many anxious, waiting 
hearts, who longed for redemption, and who, 
from what they had learned by tradition, and 
more fully from direct intercourse with the 
dispersed tribes of Israel, expected that salva- 
tion would be of the Jews, and according to 
the prediction of Balaam, that a scepter should 
rise out of Jacob. Of this number, perhaps, 
were some o( their priests and philosophers, 



228 Pulpit Echoes. 

and as all the countries to which I have re- 
ferred lay east of Judea, we may well suppose, 
that it was some of their number who visited 
Jerusalem inquiring after the new-born King 
of the Jews. 

Let us now inquire, What was the ouasioJi 
and object of their visit to Jerusalem ? 

The occasion was the appearance of a star 
in the east, which they denominated ''his star/' 

"That great events on earth," says Olshau- 
sen, '' had their corresponding appearances in 
heaven, which showed themselves principally 
in stars, was a ver)' general opinion of anti- 
quit}^ and not without truth, though it com- 
monly ser\'ed the purpose of superstition/' 
Hence we find that the appearance of comets 
in ancient times, and, indeed, in comparatively 
recent times, was regarded by many as indica- 
tive of wars and calamities. Josephus gives 
us an account of the prodigies which preceded 
the destruction of Jerusalem, and which por- 
tended its ruin. Many of the celestial phe- 
nomena, such as comets, eclipses, and con- 
junctions of the planets, which excited the 
superstitious fears of the ancients, we now 
know to be the result of operations, under 
God, of natural causes. But that God by an 



The Advent of Christ. 229 

immediate exercise of his power, for wise and 
benevolent purposes, does sometimes show 
signs in the heavens, we are assured in the 
Bible. When Joshua defeated and pursued 
the enemies of Israel, God caused the sun to 
stand still on Gibeon, and the moon in the 
valley of Adjalon. He also caused the shadow 
in the sun-dial of Ahaz to return ten degrees 
backward. At the crucifixion of Christ, which 
occurred at the feast of the Passover, which 
was always celebrated at the full of the moon, 
when a natural eclipse of the sun was impos- 
sible, a supernatural darkness covered the 
whole land. And we are assured by Christ 
himself, that before his second coming there 
shall be ''fearful sights, and great signs from 
heaven.'' "And then shall appear the sign of 
the Son of man in heaven.'' 

Some have supposed that the star which 
the Magi beheld was a meteoric appearance; 
others, that it was a comet; others, again, 
that it was a conjunction of planets ; and oth- 
ers still, that it was a particular star, which 
shone with unusual brilliancy over the land 
of Judea. All these suppositions seem to 
arise from a disposition to account for this ap- 
pearance on merely natural principles. None 



230 Pulpit Echoes. 

of these suppositions, however, harmonize with 
the narrative here given, or rationally account 
for the conduct of the " wise men/' The dis- 
appearance of the star, and its appearance 
again, after they had departed from Herod, 
does not agree with any of these conjectures. 
That an unusual meteoric appearance, or a 
comet, or a conjunction of planets, or a star 
of uncommon brilliancy, with the superstitious 
views of that age, might have excited in the 
minds of the Magi the expectation of some 
great approaching event, may be readily con- 
ceived ; but how any such appearances could 
have directed them to Jerusalem, and assured 
them of the birth of one whom they denomi- 
nated ''the King of the Jews,*' and excited 
within them a desire to worship him, when 
they were evidently not of the Jewish nation, 
must remain, on any of these suppositions, in- 
explicable. 

The only satisfactory explanation that can 
be given of this phenomenon is, that it was a 
luminous appearance, resembling a star, which 
God in a supernatural and miraculous manner 
caused to appear to the Magi, to indicate to 
them the birth of the Savior, of whom they 
evidently possessed some knowledge before. 



The Advent of Christ. 231 

In addition to this external appearance, we 
may well suppose that they also enjoyed, to 
some extent, the internal illumination of the 
Divine Spirit. From what has already been 
said, it is evident that such a miraculous ap- 
pearance would fully harmonize with the divine 
conduct in the past, and also with that which 
it is clearly indicated will characterize it in 
the future. 

While the birth of Christ was announced to 
the shepherds, as the representatives of the 
Jewish people, on the plains of Bethlehem, by 
an angel, it was revealed to the Magi, as the 
representatives of the Gentile world, on the 
plains of the east, by a miraculous star. We 
behold, then, both Jews and Gentiles, as a 
presage of his universal triumph, directing 
their steps to the manger, to behold their new- 
born king! 

The object for which the Magi came was to 
inquire after him who was born "King of the 
Jews.'' Not for him who was born to be king 
of the Jews, but who, as a king, should pro- 
ceed from the Jews. It is probable that the 
star which they had seen in the east had dis- 
appeared, and that they came to Jerusalem to 
inquire of the Jews where their king had been 



232 Pulpit Echoes. 

born. They did not doubt that such an one 
had been born, but they anxiously inquired 
as to the place of his birth. 

The reason why they desired to ascertain 
the place of his birth was, that they might 
come and "worship him.'' The question here 
presents itself, what was the nature of the 
worship which they came to offer him? Was 
it merely the homage of subjects to an earthly 
sovereign? or did it partake of a religious, 
spiritual character, though somewhat undefined 
and indefinite? That they possessed clearly 
defined views of the character of the new-born 
king we are not at liberty to suppose ; for 
even the Jews themselves, with all the advan- i 
tages which they enjoyed, comprehended but 
very imperfectly the true character of their 
promised Messiah. 

That they did not come to worship him 
merely as an earthly prince, I think will appear 
from several considerations. Herod the Great 
was the then reigning king of Judea, by the 
appointment of the Emperor and Senate of 
Rome. He was a jealous, cruel prince, and 
had the Magi come to worship Jesus, simply 
as a rival, earthly king, it is entirely proba- 
ble, from Herod's well known disposition and 



I 



The Advent of Christ 233 

character, that instead of gathering the chief 
priests and scribes together to inquire of them 
where Christ should be born, and thereby 
further the object of the wise men, that he 
would at once have arrested and punished 
them as enemies to his throne. If it be said 
that in this respect Herod acted treacherously, 
intending to use the Magi as instruments by 
which to ascertain the residence and character 
of the new-born king, it may be answered 
that this was entirely unnecessary, Bethlehem 
was only six miles distant from Jerusalem ; it 
was but an inconsiderable village; the people 
were in his power; and he could have ob- 
tained, by the exercise of his authority, all the 
information he desired upon this subject. That 
he did not act merely from motives of policy, 
I think is apparent. To have permitted 
strangers to mingle with his subjects, in- 
quiring for a new-born king, who should rival 
and dethrone him, and by these inquiries 
create a spirit of discontent among them, 
would have been indeed very impolitic; be- 
sides, the directions of Herod to the wise men, 
to bring him word again when they had found 
the young child, that he might come and 
*' worship him also,'' shows that he attached 



20 



234 Pulpit Echoes. 

more than a mere temporal character to the 
child, whose birth had been announced. Had 
he not done so, to have recognized him as 
king of the Jews and paid him homage would 
have been virtually to abdicate his throne, and 
acknowledge that he was superseded in his 
kingdom. Whatever views the Jews enter- 
tained in reference to the Messiah, were 
obviously the views entertained by Herod of 
him whose birth had been announced by the 
Magi; for as soon as Herod had heard the in- 
quiry of the ''wise men,'' he called together 
the chief priests and scribes, and inquired of 
them where Christ should be born. It was 
not, perhaps, till Herod saw that he was 
mocked by the Magi, who being warned of 
God in a dream, returned into their own 
country another way, that his jealousy was 
aroused. That he would ultimately, in any 
event, have manifested cruel opposition to 
Jesus, we can not doubt, from the divine warn- 
ing given to the Magi, and also to Joseph and 
Mary; but it is probable that when he first 
heard of the birth of Jesus, his ruling passion 
was fear, under the influence of which he was 
willing to "worship him," but afterward, per- 
ceiving no immediate danger, his fears gave 



The Advent of Christ 235 

place to hatred, under the influence of which 
he adopted the most cruel measures to pre- 
serve his throne. 

As God had guided the Magi by a star to 
Bethlehem, and directed them in a vision how 
to return to their own country, we may well 
suppose that he had also communicated to 
them some knowledge of the divine mission 
of the Savior, and that they worshiped him, 
however confusedly, in that character. 

The disappearance of the star, and the 
ignorance of the Jews, were well calculated 
to discourage the minds of these inquiring 
Magi. The star which they had seen in the 
east had evidently disappeared, and no longer 
served as a guide to direct them in their search 
for him who was '' born King of the Jews." 
This was apparently well calculated to involve 
them in perplexity, and excite the inquiry in 
their minds, whether, after all, they had not 
labored under a misapprehension, and would 
not ultimately be doomed to disappointment. 

But persevering in their purpose, and this 
extraordinary means of direction having been 
withdrawn, they employed ordinary methods 
to obtain the information they desired. Nat- 
urally supposing that the Jews would know 



236 Pulpit Echoes. 

where their king had been born, they came 
to Jerusalem, to prosecute their inquiry there. 
But to their astonishment, no doubt, they 
found the Jews ignorant of his birth, and ex- 
cited, if not alarmed, at their inquiry. This, 
instead of removing their apprehension, was 
calculated to increase their embarrassment. 

At length, after the king had summoned a 
council of the chief priests and scribes, and 
had demanded of them where Christ should 
be born, and they had informed him, /' in 
Bethlehem of Judea,'' and the Magi, with this 
information, were about to depart, the indif- 
ference of both the king and the people must 
have exerted a depressing influence on their 
minds. Neither Herod, nor the chief priests, 
nor the people furnished them with a guide 
to direct them to Bethlehem, nor sent mes- 
sengers to inquire for the new-born king. 
Notwithstanding these discouragements, their 
efforts were crowned with success. As soon 
as they had departed from the king, "lo, the 
star which they saw in the east went before 
them, till it came and stood over where the 
young child was.'' And "when they saw the 
star, they rejoiced with exceeding great joy.'' 
They who follow God in darkness shall ulti- 



The Advent of Christ. 237 

mately rejoice in his glorious light. ''Israel 
was led by a pillar of fire to the promised 
land, and the wise men by a star to the prom- 
ised Seed/' 

Although they found the infant Jesus un- 
attended and lowly, lying in a manger " with 
beasts of the stall,'' yet they were not offended 
at his humble birth, but '' fell down- and wor- 
shiped him : and when they had opened their 
treasures, they presented unto him gifts ; gold, 
and frankincense, and myrrh." They offered 
him the homage of their hearts and the gifts 
of their hands. 

We may learn much from these heathen 
philosophers. They were probably students 
of nature, particularly devoted to the study 
of astronomy, and by the observation of a 
celestial phenomenon were led to the Savior — 
"the bright and Morning Star." Whatever 
rnay be our pursuits in life, if they are lawful 
in themselves, we may find something in them 
to turn our thoughts to God. Every path of 
duty has some guiding star, which, if faithfully 
observed, will lead us to Bethlehem — to Cal- 
vary- — and the throne! We should look for 
Christ in everything, and everything in Christ. 

The Magi were surrounded with difficulties. 



238 Pulpit Echoes. 

and placed in circumstances of great discour- 
agement, but they faltered not in their pursuit 
till they saw that guiding star pale away in 
the presence of him whom angels worship. 
We may know but little of Christ, and may 
be surrounded with those who know even less 
of him, but the language of our hearts should 
ever be, "• Saw ye him whom my soul loveth ?" 
We may be surrounded with darkness, but 
if we are earnestly desirous to pursue the 
path of duty, light will soon break from the 
sky. " For we have a more sure word of 
prophecy ; whereunto ye do well that ye take 
heed, as unto a light that shineth in a dark 
place, until the day dawn, and the day-star 
arise in your hearts." Rest not satisfied until 
you find him '' of whom Moses in the law and 
the prophets did write" — Jesus of Nazareth, 
the sinner's friend. 

Having found the Savior, we should dedi- 
cate all we have and are to him. We should 
have no earthly treasure so dear to us that 
we would withhold it from Christ, if he re- 
quire it at our hand. Like the "wise men," 
we should open our treasures, and in full rec- 
ognition of his claims, present unto him our 
richest gifts. We should bring our choicest 



The Advent of Christ. 239 

things, our greatest earthly good, and lay it at 
his feet. What have we that we should with- 
hold from him who gave himself for us? We 
should not only serve him with our substance, 
but we should love him with our heart's warm- 
est devotion. Our holiest and purest affection 
should be given to him, and in our heart of 
hearts we should adore him. Without this 
everything else will be in vain. 

" Vainly we offer each ample oblation, 

Vainly with gifts would his favor secure; 
Richer by far is the heart's adoration^ 

Dearer to God are the prayers of the poor.'' 



240 Pulpit Echoes. 



XIV. 

CHRIST REJECTED. 

*'^And they cried^ sayings Crucify him, crucify him,^'* Luke xxiii : 21. 

CHRIST had, at an early period In his 
ministry, Impressed the truth upon the 
minds of his disciples that '*he must 
go up to Jerusalem, and suffer many things of 
the elders, and chief priests, and scribes, and 
be killed, and be raised again the third day.''. 
Of this truth he had repeatedly assured them, 
in order to prepare their minds for the trying 
scenes that awaited them. It appears, how- 
ever, that the disciples did not, until after his 
resurrection, properly understand and duly 
appreciate his Instructions upon this subject, 
and then they were made the means of con- 
firming their faith In him. 

As the time drew near for the accomplish- 
ment of the things which had been declared 



Christ Rejected. 241 

concerning the Messiah, Jesus went up to Je- 
rusalem, and was conducted in triumph to the 
temple, the multitude crying, "Hosanna to 
the Son of David : Blessed is he that cometh 
in the name of the Lord ; Hosanna in the 
highest/' But this triumph was of short dura- 
tion. He was soon to be smitten as the 
shepherd of the flock, while the sheep should 
be scattered abroad. 

The feast of the Passover was at hand, 
and " the chief priests, and scribes, and elders 
of the people '' consulted how they might de- 
stroy him. Still, they feared to manifest open 
violence on the feast day, lest there should be 
a tumult among the people. But that which 
the hatred of his avowed enemies feared to 
attempt, the treachery of a professed friend 
could easily accomplish. Then was fulfilled 
the saying that was written of old, ''Yea, mine 
own familiar friend, in whom I trusted, which 
did eat of my bread, hath lifted up his heel 
against me.'' Judas, into whom Satan had 
entered, went to the chief priests, and for 
thirty pieces of silver covenanted to betray 
Jesus into their hands; and from that time he 
sought opportunity to carry into effect his 
treacherous purpose. 

21 



242 Pulpit Echoes. 

After Jesus had partaken with his disciples 
of the last supper, he repaired with them to 
a place called Gethsemane, where he withdrew 
from them to engage in prayer to his Father. 
Here he began to taste of the bitter cup. His 
'^soul was exceeding sorrowful, even unto 
death.'' So severe was this conflict that an 
angel from heaven appeared unto him, to 
strengthen him. To this place, hallowed by 
the prayer and agony of the Savior, Judas 
repaired, accompanied by a multitude with 
swords and staves, and in the treachery of 
his heart he betrayed Jesus with a kiss. 
''And they laid hold on him, and led him away 
to Caiaphas the high priest, where the scribes 
and elders were assembled together.'' ''And 
the men that held Jesus mocked him, and 
smote him. And when they had blindfolded 
him, they struck him on the face, and asked 
him, saying. Prophesy, who is it that smote 
thee? And many other things blasphemously 
spake they against him." 

All this procedure against Christ appears 
to have been conducted by night. But when 
the morning was come, the Sanhedrim again 
assembled, and he was led into their council, 
where they propounded many questions to 



Christ Rejected, 243 

him, and affected to examine him carefully. 
But the power of the Sanhedrim had been so 
abridged that they could not decide and con- 
demn, finally, in capital cases; so *'the whole 
multitude of them led him to Pilate, the Roman 
Governor, and presented accusations against 
him. When arraigned before the Sanhedrim, 
an ecclesiastical court, they charged him with 
blasphemy, declaring that he, being a man, had 
made himself equal with God. But when they 
brought him before the civil governor, they 
accused him of sedition, saying, "We found 
this fellow perverting the nation, and for- 
bidding to give tribute to Caesar, saying that 
he himself is Christ, a king.'' Yet after ex- 
amination Pilate declared, "I find no fault in 
him.'' But they became more violent in their 
accusations, saying, "He stirreth up the people, 
teaching throughout all Jewry, beginning from 
Galilee to this place." But when Pilate heard 
of Galilee, he sent him to Herod, who was 
also at Jerusalem, and to whose jurisdiction 
he supposed Jesus properly belonged. Herod 
questioned him, and with his men of war set 
him at naught, and mocked him, and, after 
arraying him in a gorgeous robe of mock roy- 
alty, remanded him to Pilate. 



244 Ptdpit Echoes. 

According to an established custom, at that 
feast, a prisoner must be released unto the 
people. Pilate, therefore, again declared unto 
the chief priests, the rulers, and the people, 
that he had examined Jesus, and found no 
fault in him, and proposed to chastise him, 
and, according to their custom, to release him 
unto them. "But they cried out all at once, 
saying. Away with this man, and release unto 
us Barabbas.'' Now, Barabbas was a robber, 
and for insurrection and murder he had been 
cast into prison. Pilate then inquired, "What 
shall I do with Jesus which is called Christ? 
And they cried, saying. Crucify him, crucify 
him." 

Crucifixion was the most painful and shame- 
ful death that could be inflicted. None but 
slaves and the basest of criminals were sub- 
jected to this cruel punishment. The hands 
and feet of the criminal were nailed or fast- 
ened to the cross, and it was then erected, 
and the victim, thus suspended, sometimes 
lingered in agony for days before death re- 
leased him from his sufferings. 

I. The first inquiry which here presents 
itself is. Who was it that was thus rejected by 
,the Jews to be crucified? 



Christ Rejected, 245 

I . / observe, in the first place, that he was 
the long expected Messiah — the fellow of the 
Almighty, and the brother of man. The ex- 
pectation of his coming had been excited by 
promises which God had made to the fathers, 
defined by prophecies uttered by men whom 
he had divinely inspired, and illustrated by 
types and shadows, which he himself had or- 
dained. He was the subject of every promise, 
the object of every prophecy, and the sub- 
stance of all the types and shadows of preced- 
ing dispensations. He was Abraham's prom- 
ised Seed ; he was Jacob's Shiloh ; he was 
Moses' Prophet ; he was David's Son ; he 
was Isaiah's Wonderful, Counselor; he was 
Jeremiah's Branch'; he was Daniel's Ancient 
of Days. It was '' him of whom Moses and 
the prophets did write" — him ''to whom all 
the prophets gave witness." He was God 
manifested in the flesh — the divine revealed 
in human form. He said, and that truly, '' I 
and my Father are one." He was, indeed, 
" the brightness of the Father's glory, and the 
express image of his person." The works 
which he performed bore witness of him 
that the Father had sent him. But while he 
thought it not robbery to be equal with God, 



246 Pulpit Echoes. 

he made himself of no reputation, and took 
upon him the form of a servant, and was 
found in fashion as a man. He was clothed 
with our nature, partook of our infirmities, 
and was '' a man of sorrows and acquainted 
with grief/' Possessed of divine power, and 
partaking of human sympathies, he was the 
appointed Mediator of the new and everlast- 
ing Covenant, the Advocate of our race, and 
the Hope of the world — the Savior of men. 
2. / observe, in the second place, that he was 
a perso7i of vijinite beiievole^ice. He had not 
been arrested by the Jews and arraigned be- 
fore Pilate because he had injured society, or 
endangered the happiness of the community. 
The very reverse of this was the case. His 
mission was a mission of mercy. He came 
to seek and to save that which was lost. In 
the exercise of divine benevolence, he went 
about doing good. He fed the hungry, he 
comforted the disconsolate, he instructed the 
ignorant, and healed the diseased. But his 
infinite compassion went further than this. He 
sought to save the souls of men. He said 
to his disciples, " I lay down my life for the 
sheep.'' " No man taketh my life from me, but 
I lay it down of myself. I have power to 



Christ Rejected. 247 

lay it down, and I have power to take it again." 
When betrayed by Judas and arrested by the 
rabble mob in the garden, he could have com- 
manded legions of angels to deliver him out 
of their hands, but he said, ''The cup which 
my Father hath given me, shall I not drink 
it?" What a display of divine love is here 
presented! It is without a parallel. ''Greater 
love," saith the apostle, "hath no man than this, 
that a man lay down his life for his friends ; 
but God commendeth his love toward us, in 
that while we were enemies, Christ died for 
us." We have read of the love of Jonathan 
and David, of Pythias and Damon, but that 
was the love of friend for friend. But Jesus 
Christ loved his enemies. His love was di- 
vine — the love of a God ! 

3. / remark, m the third place, that Jesus 
was an innoce^it person. It was not because 
he was guilty that he was rejected and con- 
demned. His enemies accused him of many 
things, but they could not sustain their accusa- 
tions. They summoned many false witnesses 
to testify against him, but their testimony did 
not agree. Even Judas, who betrayed him, 
when he saw that he was condemned, re- 
pented of his wickedness and brought the 



248 Pulpit Echoes. 

thirty pieces of silver, and cast them down at 
the feet of the chief priests and elders, saying, 
'' I have betrayed the innocent blood." Herod 
the tetrarch, to whom Pilate had sent Jesus, 
returned no accusation against him. And 
Pilate himself thrice asserted his innocence. 
He said, '' Ye have brought this man unto me 
as one that perverteth the people; and, behold, 
I, having examined him before you, have found 
no fault in this man touching those things 
whereof ye accuse him; no, nor yet Herod: 
for I sent you to him ; and, lo, nothing worthy 
of death is done unto him." 

4. / remark, once more, that he was a repi^'e- 
sejitative person. What he endured was not for 
himself, but for us. He was the great surety 
of our race. '' His soul was made an offer- 
ing for sin," and " on him was laid the iniquity 
of us all." '' He suffered the just for the un- 
just, to bring us to God," and it is by "his 
stripes we are healed." Through him, and 
through him only, we have redemption, even 
the forgiveness of sins. 

Such, then, was the person condemned to 
be crucified. He was the long-expected Mes- 
siah, the Sent of God, the benevolent Re- 
deemer, the innocent Jesus, the Representative 



I 



Christ Rejected. 249 

of our race, on whom all our sins were laid. 
He was rejected. The rabble mob cried, away 
with him, '' crucify him, crucify him/' 

11. Let us now, in the second place, notice 
the circumstances connected with the crucifixion 
of Christ, the rejected Savior. 

From his arrest until he expired on the 
cross, Jesus was treated with the greatest 
cruelty and indignity. Pilate, having yielded 
to the multitude, condemned him, and, before 
delivering him to be crucified, according to an 
established custom, he scourged him. This, 
of itself, was a cruel punishment, yet it had 
been foretold by the prophet. Isaiah declared 
of him, ''I gave my back to the smiters." 
And the Psalmist declares, "The plowers 
plowed upon my back: they made long their 
furrows.'' Then the soldiers took him, "and 
they stripped him, and put on him a scarlet 
robe. And they platted a crown of thorns, 
and put it upon his head, and they put a reed 
in his hand,'' as a mock scepter of royalty. 
And they bowed the knee before him, say- 
ing, "Hail, King of the Jews." And they 
spit upon him, and smote him with the reed. 
After thus mocking and deriding him, they 
took off him the scarlet robe, and put on him 



250 Pulpit Echoes. 

his own garments, and led him away to crucify 
him. 

Behold the multitude as they pass along 
the streets of Jerusalem, and Jesus, as the 
custom was, bearing his cross to the place of 
execution ! But his strength, perhaps in con- 
sequence of his severe scourging, becomes in- 
adequate to the task, and they compel Simon, 
a Cyrenean, to bear the cross with him. At 
length they arrive at Calvary. Jesus is laid on 
the cross, and the hammer forces the rough 
nails through his tender hands and feet, and 
fastens them to the wood. The cross is then 
erected and surges heavily into the pit that 
has been dug to receive it, while every bleed- 
ing nerve of the suffering Savior is lacerated 
and torn ! Thus Jesus is suspended in agony 
and shame, between heaven and earth, a spec- 
tacle to angels and to men. The soldiers sit 
down and watch him there, while they part 
his garments among them, and cast lots on 
his vesture. The people also stand around 
beholding him, ''and the rulers with them 
deride him, saying. He saved others, let him 
save himself, if he be the Christ, the chosen 
of God." And one of the thieves which was 
crucified with him, reviled him, and cast the 



^ 



Christ Rejected, 251 

same in his teeth. None but enemies sur- 
rounded the cross. There were no loving 
disciples there. They had forsaken him and 
fled. But the women who followed him from 
Galilee, and ministered unto him, more firm in 
their attachment, stood, beholding, afar off. 

But while men could view unmoved the 
dying sorrows of our Lord, the sun refused 
to view the tragic scene, and blushed in blood. 
Darkness prevailed over the land from the 
sixth till the ninth hour. And about the ninth 
hour Jesus cried with a loud voice, ''Eloi, Eloi, 
lama-sabacthani — my God, my God, why hast 
thou forsaken me?'' And when he had cried 
again, he gave up the ghost. ''And behold, 
the vail of the temple was rent in twain from 
the top to the bottom; and the earth did 
quake, and the rocks rent; and the graves 
were opened.'' ''And when the centurion, and 
they that were with him, saw the earthquake, 
and the things which were done, they feared 
greatly, saying. Truly this was the Son of 
God." And the people smote on their breasts 
and returned to Jerusalem. 

Never was there such a manifestation of 
love and hatred, of weakness and power, of dis- 
grace and glory. The benevolent Savior, in 



252 Ptilpit Echoes. 

the exercise of infinite love, gave himself a 
ransom for the world. His enemies with cruel 
hatred persecuted him even unto death. While 
he appeared to be perfectly helpless, he pos- 
sessed divine power. That which his enemies 
supposed would stamp his name with infamy 
became the symbol of his glory. 

I . Let this subject, in the first place, hnpress 
our minds with the fearful nature of sin. It 
was for sin the Savior died. 

" His soul was once an offering made, 
For every soul of man.'' 

We sometimes feel indignant at the Jews 
who condemned and crucified the Savior; but 
we should remember that oiir sins, as well as 
theirs, caused his soul to be '' exceeding sor- 
rowful, even unto death," and wrung that 
bloody sweat from his aching pores. Our 
sins helped to plat that thorny crown, and to 
apply that bloody scourge. Our sins increased 
the weight of that ponderous cross beneath 
which the Savior sunk. Our sins helped to 
extort that fearful dying cry, '' My God, my 
God, why hast thou forsaken me ?'' Let our 
indignation, then, be excited against sin. Let 
us remember that it is an evil and bitter thing, 



Christ Rejected, 253 

and in the shadow of the cross, let us resolve 
that, by the assistance of divine grace, we will 
forsake and renounce it forever. 

2. This subject should inspire our hearts with 
love for the Savior, Oh, what a display of love ! 
''God so loved the world, that he gave his 
only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth 
in him, should not perish, but have everlast- 
ing life/' '' Herein," says the apostle, "is love, 
not that we loved God, but that he loved us, 
and sent his Son to be the propitiation for 
our sins/' Here is a display of infinite love. 
Surely, then, we should love him, seeing he 
first loved us, and gave himself for us. His 
love should excite oiir love. While contem- 
plating his dying sorrows, our hearts should 
melt with tenderness, and go out in over- 
flowing gratitude to him who hath loved us, 
and washed us from our sins in his own blood. 

3. This subject should be the means of quick- 
ening our obedience, " If ye love me,'' says 
Christ, "keep my commandments." Let us 
not love in word, neither in tongue, but in 
deed and in truth. Let us deny ourselves, 
take up our cross, and follow the Savior. Let 
us not only give him our hearts, but also our 
lives, for he gave himself for us. Surely we 



254 Pulpit Echoes. 

are not our own ; we are bought with a 
price, even the precious blood of Jesus. We 
should, therefore, endeavor to glorify him in 
our bodies and spirits, which are his. Let us, 
then, present ourselves living sacrifices, holy, 
acceptable unto God, which is our reasonable 
service. 

" Oh, love divine, what hast thou done ! 
The incarnate God hath died for me! 
The Father's co-eternal Son 

Bore all my sins upon the tree ! 
The Son of God for me hath died: 
My Lord, my Love, was crucified." 



The Resurrection of Christ. 255 



XV. 

THE RESURRECTION OF CHRIST. 

" And that he rose from the dead the third day, according to the 
Scriptures y i Cor. xv: 4. 

"^ "T TITHOUT controversy, great is the 
\/\/ mystery of godliness; God was 
manifested in the flesh, justified 
in the spirit, seen of angels, preached unto 
the Gentiles, believed on in the world, received 
up into glory/' He that was rich became 
poor, that we through his poverty might be 
rich. He humbled himself, and took upon him 
the form of a servant, and was found in fashion 
as a man. From the manger to the cross 
Jesus was known as a man of sorrows, and 
acquainted with grief. It is said he was never 
known to smile, for the weight of a world's 
guilt and a world's woe pressed upon his mind 
and upon his heart. '' He came unto his own, 
but his own received him not. The world was 



256 Pulpit Echoes. 

made by him, but the world knew him not/' 
Although Lord and heir of all, yet ''he had 
not where to lay his head." In apparent 
weakness he reposed beneath the palms of 
Olivet, and refreshed himself by the murmur- 
ing waters of the softly gliding Kedron. Al- 
though in him dwelt the fullness of the God- 
head bodily, yet as a m.an he hungered, he 
thirsted, he wept, he suffered, he died. In the 
sufferings and death of Christ we behold the 
Sun of Righteousness setting in gloom and 
darkness, and nature clothed in the habiliments 
of mourning. Never before had the grave 
received such a prey, nor death triumphed 
over such a victim. But that triumph was of 
short duration, " for it was impossible that he 
should be holden of death." In the language 
of the apostle, '' He rose again the third day, 
according to the Scriptures." 

The resurrection of Jesus Christ from the 
dead is the subject here presented for our 
consideration. It is one of the most important 
subjects connected with the entire Christian 
system. It lies at the foundation of our faith 
and hope in our holy Christianity. Indeed, 
the Apostle Paul rests the truth of the entire 
system on this single fact, and declares, " If 



The Resurrection of Christ 257 

Christ be not risen, then is our preaching vain, 
and your faith is also vain/' 

I. In considering this subject, I observe, 
in the first place, that the resurrection of 
Christ was typified a7td predicted. 

I. It was typified. The deliverance of 
Isaac, by divine interposition, when Abraham 
was commanded to sacrifice him in the land 
of Moriah, is generally regarded as a type of 
the resurrection of Christ. The language of 
the apostle appears to justify this conclusion. 
He says: ''By faith Abraham, when he was 
tried, offered up Isaac — accounting that God 
was able to raise him up, even from the dead: 
from whence also he received him in a figure." 
The deliverance of Jonah was also a type of 
the resurrection of the Redeemer. The man- 
ner in which the Savior referred to the case 
affords a clear intimation of this fact. He 
declared that as Jonah had been three days 
and three nights in the deep, so he should be 
three days and three nights in the heart of the 
earth. The deliverance of Daniel out of the 
lion's den, and the deliverance of the three 
Hebrew children out of the fiery furnace, may 
also be regarded as typical of this great event. 

In illustration of this point I shall refer 



258 Pulpit Echoes. 

only to another instance. The sheaf of the 
first-fruits, waved before the Lord, on the 
second day of the feast of unleavened bread, 
appears to have been a type of the resurrec- 
tion of Christ, who rose on that very day, and 
became the first-fruits of them that slept. 
''Under the Levitical law,'' says Pierson, "all 
the fruits of the earth in the land of Canaan 
were profane ; none might eat of them till 
they were consecrated, and that was done in 
the feast of the first-fruits. One sheaf was 
taken from the field and brought to the priest, 
who Hfted it up as it were in the name of all 
the rest, waving it before the Lord, and it was 
accepted of them, so that all the sheaves of 
the field were accounted holy from the accept- 
ance of that one; 'for if the first-fruits be holy, 
the lump also is holy.'" The Apostle Paul, 
in direct allusion to this fact, declares, "Now 
is Christ risen from the dead, and become the 
first-fruits of them that slept." 

2. // zvas p7^edicted. It is said in the sec- 
ond Psalm, " I will declare the decree : the 
Lord hath said unto me. Thou art my Son ; 
this day have I begotten thee." This can not 
refer to David, or any other mere creature ; 
for no mere creature, without usurping divine 



The Resurrection of Christ. 259 

prerogatives can, as is here done, claim the 
heathen for his inheritance, and the uttermost 
parts of the earth for his possession. This 
Psalm is admitted by Jewish rabbis, as well as 
Christians, to relate to the Messiah. In ex- 
planation of the declaration of the decree here 
spoken of, the apostle assures us that Christ 
was *' declared to be the Son of God with 
power, according to the Spirit of holiness, by 
the resurrection from the dead.'' And he 
says again, ''We declare unto you glad tidings, 
how the promise which was made unto the 
fathers, God hath fulfilled the same unto us their 
children, in that he hath raised up Jesus again ; 
as it is also written in the second Psalm, 
Thou art my Son, this day have I begotten 
thee." Another prediction of the resurrection 
of the Messiah is contained in the sixteenth 
Psalm, where it is said, ''Thou wilt not leave 
my soul in hell ; neither wilt thou suffer thy 
Holy One to see corruption." The word here 
rendered soul, says the learned Mr. Frey, more 
frequently relates to the mere body, and the 
word shoel, translated hell, frequently signifies 
the grave, so that the simple meaning appears 
to be, Thou wilt not leave my body in the 
grave. Peter's comment on this passage on 



26o Pulpit Echoes. 

the day of Pentecost is clear and decisive. 
He says : '' Men and brethren, let me freely 
speak unto you of the patriarch David, that 
he is both dead and buried, and his sepulcher 
is with us unto this day. Therefore being a 
prophet, and knowing that God had sworn with 
an oath to him, that of the fruit of his body, 
according to the flesh, he would raise up Christ 
to sit on his throne ; he, seeing this before, 
spake of the resurrection of Christ, that his 
soul was not left in hell, neither his flesh did 
see corruption ;" that is, his body was not left 
in the grave ; no, not sufficiently long for his 
flesh, under the ordinary action of the laws 
of matter, to see corruption. In the one hun- 
dred and eighteenth Psalm It is said, ''The 
stone which the builders refused, is become the 
head stone of the corner.'' The Messiah is 
often compared in the Scriptures to a stone. 
It is said in the prophecy of Isaiah, " Behold, 
I lay in Zion for a foundation, a stone, a tried 
stone, a precious corner stone, a sure founda- 
tion ; he that believeth shall not make haste." 
The language of the Psalmist, above quoted, 
is applied by the apostle to Christ, and it 
clearly sets forth his rejection, and subsequent 
exaltation and glory, and consequently must 



The Resurrection of Christ 261 

imply his resurrection from the dead. There 
is a striking passage in the book of Hosea 
which, in its literal sense, can apply to none 
but the Messiah. I will merely quote it: 
"After two days will he revive us : in the 
third day he will raise us up, and we shall 
live in his sight.'' The application of this 
passage will at once present itself to every 
reflecting mind. 

I observe, once more, that Christ predicted 
his own resurrection. He said to the Jews, 
in reference to the temple of his body, " De- 
stroy this temple, and in three days I will 
raise it up.'' On another occasion he " took 
unto him the twelve and said unto them, Be- 
hold we go up to Jerusalem, and all things 
that are written by the prophets concerning 
the Son of man shall be accomplished. And 
they shall scourge him, and put him to death ; 
and the third day he shall rise again." These 
predictions were known to his enemies; for the 
chief priests and Pharisees, after his crucifix- 
ion, came together to Pilate, saying, ''Sir, we 
remember that that deceiver said while he 
was yet alive. After three days I will rise 
again. Command therefore that the sepulcher 
be made sure until the third day." 



262 Pttlpit Echoes, 

II. Having thus briefly shown that the 
resurrection of Christ was typified and pre- 
dicted, I shall endeavor to prove, in the 
second place, that Ch7Hst rose fro7n the dead 
the third day, according to the Scriptures. 

The reality of his death and burial has never 
been seriously called in question. These are 
points on which both the friends and enemies 
of Christianity agree. Indeed, the malice of 
the Jews, which pursued the Savior through 
life, and secured his condemnation and cruci- 
fixion, was such as to forbid the thought that 
they would permit his body to be taken from 
the cross before life was extinct. And their 
precaution and vigilance in sealing the stone, 
and setting the watch at the door of the 
sepulcher, afford sufficient evidence that his 
body was laid in the tomb. That the body 
of Christ disappeared from the tomb, not- 
withstanding all the precautions which were 
taken to prevent it, is* admitted, nay, even 
asserted, by his enemies as well as his friends. 
The former declare that while the guard of 
soldiers slept, his disciples stole him away ; 
the latter maintain, in accordance with pre- 
ceding types and predictions, that he rose from 
the dead. 



I 



The Resurrection of Christ, 263 

This IS a simple matter of fact, and must be 
established, like any other fact, by competent 
and credible human testimony. There is noth- 
ing in the nature of any fact itself which ren- 
ders it incredible. Whatever is possible may 
occur; and whatever occurs in such a manner 
as to be witnessed by men may be established 
by their testimony. There is nothing in the 
fact of the resurrection of Christ which ren- 
ders it incredible, more than there is in ten 
thousand other facts which are witnessed every 
day, and the reality of which is never called 
in question. 

1. In support of the fact of the resurrection 
of Christ, we have the testimony of a large 
member of witnesses who declare that they saw 
him alive after his resurrection, at different 
times and in different places ; that they fre- 
quently conversed with him ; that they ate 
with him, and saw him eat; that they handled 
him, and that they saw the marks inflicted on 
his body at the time of his crucifixion. In a 
word, that he appeared to them in every way 
as a living man, and that he acted in every 
way as a living man. 

2. From the character of these witnesses 
their testimony is every way worthy of credit. 



264 Pulpit Echoes, 

(i.) The apostles were men of known probity 
and veracity. Their whole lives afford suf- 
ficient evidence of this. The candor, sim- 
plicity and artlessness with which they related 
facts ; the frankness with which they recorded 
their own failings; the purity and excellency 
of the doctrines which they taught, in connec- 
tion with their entire conduct, afford incon- 
testable evidence that they were not impostors, 
but sincere and honest men. 

(2.) They had no personal interests to pi^o- 
mote by attempting to impose a deception 
upon the world in reference to this event. 
If they were impostors, what advantages could 
they expect to realize from success? Christ 
had emphatically declared that his kingdom 
was not of this world. He had discarded all 
worldly power, and worldly pomp, and worldly 
gratification, and worldly glory ; so that if they 
succeeded, the doctrines which they taught 
would prevent them from realizing any worldly 
advantage from their success. And what 
could they expect to realize from defeat? 
Nothing but poverty, suffering, and eternal 
infamy. If the apostles, then, could have had 
nothing advantageous of a worldly character 
to expect from success, but everything of a 



The Resurrection of Christ, 265 

ruinous character to apprehend from defeat, 
we conclude they were not impostors, but can- 
did, disinterested witnesses, and that their tes- 
timony is every way worthy of credit. 

(3.) Their very prejudices increased the 
strength of their testimony. The apostles, in 
common with their countrymen, had expected 
a glorious, conquering Messiah ; and, not- 
withstanding the teachings and instructions 
of Christ to the contrary, this conviction ap- 
pears to have been fixed in their minds. On 
one occasion we find them disputing among 
themselves which of them should be greatest 
in his kingdom. They imagined that he was 
about to - reign as a temporal prince on the 
earth, and each one of them was ambitious 
to obtain the post of highest honor in his 
kingdom. On another occasion, after Christ 
had showed unto them that he must go up to 
Jerusalem, ''and be killed, and be raised the 
third day, Peter took him and began to rebuke 
him, saying. Be it far from thee. Lord; this 
shall not be unto thee.'' They could not be- 
lieve that he would die, consequently they 
were not prepared to believe in his resurrection 
from the dead. With his death their hopes 
expired. Their prejudices, then, instead of 

23 



2 66 ' Ptdpit Echoes, 

leading them, contrary to the truth, to testify 
to the resurrection of Christ, would have led 
them to pursue an entirely different course. 

(4.) Their incredulity and cautiousness are 
also worthy of observation. When the women 
who had visited the sepulcher early in the 
morning, on the first day of the week, returned 
and told the disciples that they had seen the 
risen ^Savior, their w^ords seemed to them as 
idle tales, and they believed them not. They 
were unwilling to believe the testimony of 
the women, until it was confirmed by the most 
incontestable evidence. Thomas was pecul- 
iarly incredulous, indeed criminally so, declar- 
ing, " Except I shall see in his hands the 
print of the nails, and put my finger into the 
print of the nails, and thrust my hand into 
his side, I wall not believe.'' Now we can 
not for a moment suppose that persons so 
incredulous and cautious could have been de- 
ceived in reference to the great fact to which 
they testified, or on slight evidence could have 
l^ublished to the world the doctrine of the 
resurrection. 

(5.) They we7^e fidly competent to judge of 
the evidence in the case. It was not a matter 
of opinion, but a matter of fact. The evi- 



The Resurrection of Christ. 267 

dence was not addressed primarily to their 
judgment, but to their senses. And unless 
we receive the evidence of our senses, we 
have no means of arriving at the truth in any 
case. The only evidence you have that I am 
now before you, is the evidence of your senses, 
that you see me and hear me speak. This is 
the very kind of evidence the disciples had 
of the resurrection of Christ — the evidence 
of their senses. They saw him, and con- 
versed with him on various occasions after 
his crucifixion and resurrection from the dead. 
But the inquiry may arise. How did they 
know that the person whom they saw, and 
with whom they conversed, was the identical 
person who was crucified on the cross? In 
answer to this question, I inquire. How do you 
know that your friend, with whom you meet 
to day, IS the same with whom you met on 
yesterday? The only evidence you can have 
of this fact is the evidence of your senses, that 
the color, the form, the motions, and the speech 
are the same. All these marks of identity, 
even to the nail prints in his hands, and the 
spear mark in his side, were presented to 
the senses of the disciples in the case of the 
risen Redeemer. And this was the only evi- 



268 Pulpit Echoes. 

dence of which the case was susceptible. If 
this evidence be rejected, all our knowledge 
of the external world, its present state and 
past history, must at once be renounced. 

3. I observe again, that the circumsta^ices 
under which the apostles bore their testimony 
afford evidence of its truth. 

(i.) They did not publish the resurrection 
of Christ in a distant country, as impostors 
would undoubtedly have done, but in Jerusa- 
lem, the very place where he had been con- 
demned and crucified, and where they asserted 
his resurrection had taken place. 

(2.) They did not wait till after the lapse of 
years before they proclaimed the fact of- the 
resurrection, but in three days after his cruci- 
fixion they asserted that he had risen from the 
dead, and triumphed o'er the grave. 

(3.) They did not assert this privately to their 
friends, but they proclaimed it publicly, before 
the most implacable enemies of the Savior — 
enemies who had condemned and crucified 
him on the cross. They proclaimed it before 
the Jewish Sanhedrim, the chief priests, the 
Scribes and Pharisees, and learned doctors of 
the law — men every way capable of examin- 
ing the case, and of detecting and exposing 



The Resurrection of Christ. 269 

every attempt at deception, and their own 
characters being at stake, they had the stron- 
gest motive to incite them to the strictest 
scrutiny. But these men, instead of attempt- 
ing to overthrow the testimony of the dis- 
ciples, and expose its fallacy, simply by their 
authority enjoined silence upon them, that 
they should not publish it abroad. 

If the apostles were impostors, their con- 
duct in publishing the resurrection of Christ 
in Jerusalem, in such a short time after his 
crucifixion, and before his most implacable 
enemies, is of the most unaccountable and 
wonderful character, and is almost as marvel- 
ous as the doctrine of the resurrection itself. 

(4.) Their mimber and the harmony of their 
testimony entitle them to credit. ''He was 
seen of Cephas ; then of the twelve. After 
that he was seen of above five hundred breth- 
ren at once.'' All these witnesses bore a 
uniform testimony to the fact of the resur- 
rection of Christ. And it can not for a mo- 
ment be supposed, that, under the circum- 
stances, so many could have been deceived; 
nor can we conceive it possible, if they were 
impostors, that so many, under the most dif- 
ficult circumstances, could have maintained a 



1 



270 Pulpit Echoes. 



consistent testimony in support of the alleged 
fact, without in the slightest degree contra- 
dicting each other. We maintain that it is 
utterly impossible for an equal number of 
men to come into a court of justice, and tes- 
tify to a falsehood, in support of a precon- 
certed plan, and submit to a rigid examina- 
tion by men capable of investigating the case, 
without contradicting each other, and invali- 
dating each other's testimony. As you in- 
crease the number of false witnesses, you 
increase the probabilities of contradiction, de- 
tection and exposure. But where did the wit- 
nesses to the resurrection of Christ contradict 
each other? In what particular did they in- 
validate each other s testimony ? In every in- 
stance it was consistent and harmonious ; and 
this affords the strongest evidence of its truth. 
(5.) The dangers to which the testimony of 
the disciples exposed them, and their unwavering 
perseverance in it, afford not only evidence of 
their sincerity, but also of its truth. They were 
fully convinced that they had not followed 
cunningly devised fables ; and although their 
adherence to the doctrine of the resurrection 
exposed them to the greatest privations and 
dangers, and caused their names to be cast 



The Resurrection of Christ. 271 

out as evil, yet they persevered in it, and most 
of them sealed their belief in its truth with 
their blood. 

We are told, however, that many fanatics 
have laid down their lives sooner than re- 
nounce opinions which they believed to be true, 
but which others knew, nevertheless, to be 
erroneous, and that their conduct, while it 
afforded proof of their own sincerity, was no 
evidence of the truth of the opinions which 
they entertained. This is undoubtedly true; 
but the distinction between a matter of opinion 
and a matter of fact is here entirely over- 
looked. A man may die in support of an 
erroneous opinion which he believes to be 
true, but where is the man who will die in 
support of an alleged fact, which he knows to 
be false ? The apostles did not die for an 
opinion, but they submitted to death sooner 
than renounce their testimony to a great fact 
in reference to which they knew they could 
not possibly be mistaken. Their conduct, 
then, affords not only evidence of their own 
sincerity, but also of the truth of their testi- 
mony. We have their dying declarations, not 
to their belief in an opinion, but to their pos- 
itive knowledge of this great fact. 



272 Pulpit Echoes. 

By these facts and considerations, which 
account for the disappearance of the body 
of Christ from the tomb, we are led to the 
undeniable conclusion that he rose from the 
dead. This is the conclusion to which we 
must arrive, unless we suppose that honest, 
disinterested, ^mprejudiced, ca7idid, and competeiit 
witnesses, conspired, under the most extra- 
ordinary circumstances, to impose a grand de- 
ception on the world; and that they actually 
succeeded in the very place where Christ was 
condemned and crucified, in a very short time 
after his death, and among his most impla- 
cable enemies ; that, although their number 
was great, they were enabled to maintain an 
unbroken and consistent testimony in support 
of their grand imposition, which no human 
ingenuity was capable of overthrowing; and, 
finally, that they exposed themselves to the 
greatest privations and hardships, and even 
to death itself, in consequence of their pre- 
tended belief in what they knew to be false. 
These are suppositions which no rational mind 
can for a single moment entertain. We reject 
them as utterly absurd, and are compelled by 
the force of evidence and truth to believe — 
and while we believe it to glory in it — that 



The Resurrection of Christ. 273 

Jesus Christ, In harmony with preceding types 
and predictions, rose from the dead. 

4. The statement of the disciples in refer- 
ence to the disappearance of the body of 
Christ from the tomb is the only consistent 
statement on the subject, and every other is 
evidently inconsistent, contradictory and fool- 
ish. This will appear if we notice the account 
which the enemies of Christ gave of the dis- 
appearance of his body. It is admitted, as 
observed before, that the body of Christ dis- 
appeared from the tomb. Now, if it were 
•' taken away, it must have been done either 
by his enemies or by his friends. That his ene- 
mies would not do it is evident from the fact 
that it was the very event which they desired 
to prevent. So long as they could retain the 
body of Christ in their possession, it would 
afford incontestable evidence against any as- 
sertion which might be made by his friends in 
reference to his resurrection from the dead. 
It is equally evident that his friends could not 
do it; for the tomb was strictly guarded by 
a band of Roman soldiers, for the express 
purpose of preventing such an occurrence. 
But the solution of the difficulty which the 
chief priests and elders placed in the mouths 



2 74 Pulpit Echoes, 

of the soldiers was this : " Say ye His disciples 
came by night, and stole him away while we 
slept." This statement, which was the very 
best the enemies of Christ could present, 
bears its own refutation on its very face. It 
w^as a crime punishable with death by the 
Roman law for a soldier to be found asleep 
upon duty; and it is not likely that a whole 
band of soldiers, exposed to such a severe 
penalty, should have fallen asleep at once. 
If they were asleep, they were in an uncon- 
scious state, and were insensible to all around 
them, ^nd consequently were incompetent wit- 
nesses in the case. If they were asleep, I in- 
quire, How did they know that the disciples 
stole away the body of Christ ? If they were 
awake, why, then, did they not prevent the 
theft? 

This account must be rejected as evidently 
unreasonable and false. There can no satis- 
factory account be given of the disappearance 
of the body of Christ from the tomb, but that 
given by his disciples, and it is one in which we 
will forever glory, that he rose from the dead. 

5. I observe, in conclusion upon this point, 
that Christ rose from the dead the third day, ac- 
cording to the Scriptures, This was the period 



The Resurrection of Christ. 275 

indicated by the ancient types and predictions, 
and also the time designated by Christ him- 
self, for his resurrection. It was important, 
therefore, that this great event should occur 
at the time specified. It has been objected, 
however, that Christ remained in the tomb, 
according to the showing of the evangelists, 
but a little over a day and a night. In an- 
swer, I observe that this is a question of time, 
and must be settled according to the Jewish 
method of computation. The Jews in their or- 
dinary computation of time counted any part 
of a day as equal to a whole day. "Hence,'' 
says a learned author, "as Christ was buried 
before sunset on Friday, and remained in the 
grave the whole of the Jewish Sabbath, if he 
rose but one hour after the Sabbath was 
ended, every Jew in his computation would 
reckon it three days and three nights, although 
in reality but twenty-six hours.'' It should be 
remembered that the Jews reckoned their day 
from evening to evening. Christ was cruci- 
fied on Friday afternoon, and buried before 
sunset, for it was the day of the " preparation, 
and the Sabbath drew on." This was the first 
day. At the setting of the sun the Sabbath 
commenced, during the whole of which he 



276 Pidpit Echoes. 

remained in the grave. This was the second 
day. At the setting of the Sabbath's sun, the 
third day commenced, and on the ensuing 
morning, probably between the dawning of 
the day and the rising of the sun, the stone 
was rolled a\\^y, and Jesus came forth, triumph- 
ant over death and the grave. The two dis- 
ciples who journeyed to Emmaus on the first 
day of the week, so understood it, and in 
their conversation with the supposed stranger 
by the way, informed him of all that had 
taken place, and added, '' Beside all this, to- 
day is the third day since these things were 
done, and certain women also of our com- 
pany made us astonished Avhich were early 
at the sepulcher. And when they found not 
his body, they came, saying, that they had 
seen a vision of angels, which said he was 
alive." The Jews to whom the announcement 
w^as first made, and who must have possessed 
the means of exposing any discrepancy in 
time, had it existed, never intimated an objec- 
tion of this kind, knowing the statement of 
the disciples, according to their own method 
of computation, to be correct. This affords 
conclusive evidence on the subject, and our 
faith may rest with unwavering assurance on 



The Resurrection of Christ. 277 

the great fact, that Jesus Christ rose from the 
dead the third day, according to the Scriptures. 
III. In conclusion, I notice the importance 
of the resurrection of Christ. 

1 . And, in the first place, it proves him to 
be the Son of God — God manifest in the flesh. 
The apostle assures us that ''he was declared 
to be the Son of God with power, by the 
resurrection from the dead.'' His enemies 
condemned him for blasphemy, because he 
said he was the Son of God. They reproached 
him with this on the cross, saying, ''He trusted 
in God; let him deliver him now, if he will 
have him: for he said, I am the Son of God.'' 
This being the crime for which he was con- 
demned by the Jews, his resurrection from 
the dead was a complete vindication of his 
character and claims, and proved him indeed 
to be, according to his own profession, the Son 
of God. 

2. In the second place, it proves him to be the 
promised Messiah. When the Jews required 
of him a sign in proof of his Messiahship, he 
referred them to his resurrection, as affording 
sufficient evidence of the divinity of his mis- 
sion. He said, " Destroy this temple," refer- 
ring to the temple of his body, "and in three 



278 Pulpit Echoes. 

days I will raise it up/' They did destroy 
that temple, and on the third day he raised it 
up again, affording a demonstration of the 
truth, that he was the Sent of God. It was a 
complete fulfillment of" the ancient types and 
predictions in reference to the Messiah. '' His 
body was not left in the grave, neither did 
his flesh see corruption.'' 

3. The resurrection of Christ proves, in the 
third place, that his death was an acceptable sac- 
rifice to God, and was regarded by him as a 
propitiation for our sins. Had the holy life, 
sufferings, and death of Christ not satisfied 
the demands of the law, he would have been 
detained a prisoner in the realms of death. 
But Christ finished all he had engaged to per- 
form, and God accepted the offering. The 
divine law, in his life and death, is magnified; 
justice is satisfied ; the world is redeemed, and 
the prisoner is released. The debt is paid, and 
deliverance is proclaimed. 

4. Finally, it shows the possibility and cer- 
tainty of a general resurrection ; and is an as- 
surance and pledge to the people of God of a 
glorious resurrection and a future life. Our 
nature, in the person of Christ, has triumphed 
over death. And his people are assured that 



The Resurrection of Christ. 279 

as he lives, so they shall live also. Our resur- 
rection is a consequence of his resurrection. 
And as surely as he rose, so surely shall we 
also rise. But every man in his own order. 
Christ the first-fruits of them that slept; after- 
ward they that are Christ's at his coming. 
For he "shall descend from heaven with a 
shout, with the voice of the archangel and the 
trump of God,'' ''and all that are in their 
graves shall hear his voice, and shall come 
forth; they that have done good unto the 
resurrection of life; and they that have done 
evil unto the resurrection of condemnatk)n." 
Every tomb shall burst, and every sepulchral 
dome shall thrill with life; the sea shall give 
up the dead that are in it, and death and hell 
shall deliver up the dead that are in them, and 
a redeemed and disenthralled world shall 
shout, "O death, where is thy sting? O grave, 
where is thy victory? Thanks be unto God 
which giveth us the victory, through our Lord 
Jesus Christ." 

Standing amid the fading forms and wither- 
ing scenes of earth, I hear the Angel of Mor- 
tality, in accents of terror that startle the 
world, proclaim, ''AH flesh is as grass, and 
the glory of man as the flower of the grass; 



28o Pulpit Echoes. 

the grass withereth, and the flower thereof 
falleth away.'' I look around me, and death 
is everywhere. I behold the innocent prattle 
of childhood hushed, the blooming form of 
beauty fade, the vigor of manhood perish, and 
the faltering steps of age totter into the grave. 
On every threshold there is a shadow, in 
every heart there is an aching throb. Who 
has not lost a friend? Whose eye has not 
been dimmed with a tear, and whose breast 
has not been heaved with a sigh while stand- 
ing by the grave-side of the loved and the 
lost? Where are many of our fathers and 
our mothers, our brothers and our sisters, 
our children and our companions? Many of 
them are with the silent sleepers. Their forms 
repose in the lonely grave-yard, or in the 
crowded cemetery. The objects of our affec- 
tion, one after another, are snatched away by 
the hand of death. Every thing around us is 
withering, fading, drooping, dying. While look- 
ing on the desolation, our hearts grow sick, 
and we are almost ready to sink in despair, 
and pronounce life a failure, and existence a 
curse. But amid the gathering gloom I hear 
the Angel of the Covenant, in accents of love 
that thrill the heart with joy, proclaim, 'T 



The Resurrection of Christ. 281 

am the resurrection and the Hfe: he that be- 
lieveth in me, though he were dead, yet shall 
he live/' Hope revives, and joy returns! 
I look again, and lo ! the Angel of Immor- 
tality, with the lamp of life keeps watch at 
the tomib, until the day dawn and the shadows 
fade, and the Angel of the Resurrection shall 
bid the sleepers rise. Joy to the world ! Jesus 
has conquered death ! " He rose, he rose ! 
He burst the bars of death, and triumphed 
o'er the grave. Then I rose ! Then first hu- 
manity triumphant passed the crystal ports 
of light, and seized immortal youth ! Hail ! 
hail ! Thine's all the glory, man's the bound- 
less bliss." 

Now we may follow our friends to the 
grave, and our own feet may enter its shade, 
but we are assured that if a man die, he shall 
live again ; and he that liveth and believeth 
in Jesus shall never die. Then, 

" Let sickness blast, let death devour. 

If heaven must recompense our pains. 
Wither the grass and fade the flower, 
If firm the word of God remains.'' 
24 



282 Pulpit Echoes. 



XVI. 

TRIAL AND TRIUMPH. 

'''And it came to pass^ as they still went on^ and talked^ that, behold, 
there appeared a chariot of fire, and horses of fire, and parted theni both 
asunder; and Elijah went up by a whirlwind into heaven,''^ 2 Kings 
ii: 2. 

^ ¥ "^HE descent of the Prophet Elijah is 
I involved in obscurity. We know noth- 
ing of his parentage, and but little of 
his early history. He is said to have been 
of the inhabitants of Gilead, and was called 
the Tishbite. From this we may infer that 
he was of the tribe of Gad, or of the half 
tribe of Manasseh, which dwelt beyond Jor- 
dan, and between which the country of Gilead 
was divided, and that he dwelt in Tishbe, a 
town in that country. From the obscurity 
of his origin and the meaning of his name — 
"He is my God'' — some have supposed that 
he was an angel, who for a time appeared in 



Trial and Triumph, 283 

human form, to recall the world from its cor- 
ruption and error. The manner of his de- 
parture from the world is also supposed to 
afford some evidence in support of this con- 
jecture. We can not, however, conceive how 
this supposition can be reconciled with the 
plain declaration of the apostle, that he was 
*'a man subject to like passions as we are," 
or as Dr. Adam Clarke has it, '' with real 
human propensities.'' 

He appears to have been peculiarly the 
prophet of Israel, as we have no account of 
him ever prophesying in Judah. He is first 
introduced to our notice as a messenger of 
God to denounce the judgments of heaven 
against Ahab, the wicked king of Israel, and 
against his equally wicked subjects. He was 
undoubtedly a great prophet, and his equal 
perhaps never appeared in Israel. For the 
purpose of magnifying his own power and 
overthrowing idolatry, God performed many 
miracles by his hand. He restored the dead to 
life ; at his word the heavens were shut and 
opened ; and on one occasion he called down 
fire from heaven, which consumed his enemies. 

For wise and benevolent reasons God de- 
termined that a life of such faithfulness should 



284 Pulpit Echoes. 

be crowned with a triumphant end. This pur- 
pose appears to have been communicated to 
EHjah, and also to the schools of the proph- 
ets. But instead of giving himself up to the 
contemplation of the joys that awaited him, 
he was increasingly active and faithful in the 
performance of duty. Accompanied by his 
servant Elisha, he went from Gilgal to Bethel, 
and visited the sons of the prophets, and 
gave them, no doubt, his last counsel and 
benediction. From Bethel he went to Jericho, 
for a similar purpose, and thence to the Jor- 
dan, and with his mantle he divided its waters, 
and '' they two went over on dry ground." 
Having proved the fidelity of his servant 
Elisha, he said unto him, *VAsk what I shall 
do for thee, before I shall be taken away from 
thee. And Elisha said, I pray thee, let a dou- 
ble portion of thy spirit be upon me/' This 
the prophet informed him was a difficult re- 
quest ; yet he assured him, nevertheless, that 
if he would remain faithful, and continue with 
him to the end, God would grant it. ''And 
it came to pass, as they still went on, and 
talked, that, behold, there appeared a chariot 
of fire, and horses of fire, and parted them 
both asunder; and Elijah went up by a whirl- 



Trial and Trinmph. 285 

wind into heaven. And Elisha saw it, and 
cried, My father, my father, the chariot of Is- 
rael, and the horsemen thereof. And he saw 
him no more/' 

From the history of this eminent man of 
God we may learn important lessons of in- 
struction. His whole life was a continual trial. 
Like all the children of God, he drank of the 
cup of earthly sorrow, and passed through 
scenes of tribulation. Although a distin- 
guished prophet, yet he was not exempted 
from the ordinary trials and afflictions of life. 
Even Christ, the Great Prophet, was made 
perfect through suffering ; and if we would 
gain his presence, we must follow his steps. 
He that would reach the mountain's top must 
climb the mountain's brow. 

Elijah had many external trials to en- 
counter. The times in which he lived were 
marked by gross idolatry and wickedness. 
The altars of God were broken down; his 
worship was forsaken ; and his prophets had 
been exiled or slain. Baal was worshiped; 
his prophets were multiplied; and the people, 
with comparatively few exceptions, were given 
up to idolatry. So great was the apostasy 
that at one time the prophet supposed that 



28 6 Ptflpit EcJwcs, 

he alone was left, as a worshiper o{ the true 
God. This was a source of peculiar trial and 
affliction to his mind, and, in view of these 
facts, even life itself did not appear to him to 
be desirable. 

In the discharge of the duties of his office, 
as a prophet of God, Elijah encountered the 
most violent opposition. Ahab denounced him 
as the *' troubler of Israel,'* and sought him in 
every nation and kingdom, that he might de- 
stroy him. After Ahab's death, Ahaziah, who 
reio^ned in his stead, became incensed aofainst 
him and sought to apprehend him, for the 
purpose of taking away his liberty or his life. 
He alone, as a prophet of God, was con- 
fronted and opposed by four hundred and fifty 
prophets of Baal, supported and encouraged 
by royal patronage and favor. And when 
God gave him a signal victory over them, and 
they were slain, Jezebel, the idolatrous queen 
of Ahab, incited with rage, swore by the gods 
that she would take his life. The most violent 
passions of the human heart, the interests of 
idolatrous and designing priests, and the arm 
of civil authority and power were all arrayed 
against him. Who of us has been called upon 
to encounter such opposition as this? 



Trial and Triumph. 287 

His temporal condition was one of entire 
dependence. In this respect he appears to 
have been frequently placed in circumstances 
of peculiar trial. On various occasions all 
visible means of support were cut off, and he 
was left to rely entirely on the providence 
of God. When he departed from the pres- 
ence of Ahab, after denouncing the judgment 
of God against the land, he went, according 
to divine direction, and hid himself by the 
brook Chereth, before Jordan, and he drank 
of the water of the brook, and the ravens 
supplied him with food. Every day he saw 
the water of the brook diminishing, and at 
length it was entirely dried up, and that source 
of supply was wholly exhausted. He was then 
commanded to go to Zarephath, and informed 
that a widow woman would sustain him. 
When he reached the place, he found the poor 
woman with but a handful of meal in a barrel, 
and a little oil in a cruise. It seems that 
God would not supply him, nor those on 
whom he made him dependent, with more 
than a meal at a time. He seems to have 
been peculiarly a child of Providence. And 
as he was "a man of like passions as we are," 
his utter destitution and dependence must 



288 Ptdpit Echoes. 

have been a severe trial to his mind. It is 
easy to trust God for support when we are 
surrounded with every earthly comfort; but to 
confide in him, without murmuring, when every 
visible means of supply is cut off, requires no 
ordinary degree of confidence. 

The prophet's internal conflicts were also 
great. He was ''a man subject to like pas- 
sions as we are." He possessed all the pro- 
pensities and weaknesses of our nature. In- 
deed, some suppose that the expression of 
the apostle implies that he was a man of a 
warm temperament, and more than ordinarily 
strong passions and propensities. Whether 
the language of the apostle will justify such 
an inference or not, we will not pretend to 
determine. It is enough for us to know that 
he possessed a fallen nature, and a heart 
prone to depart from God, to be convinced 
that to maintain a pious life, in the circum- 
. stances in which he was placed, required con- 
tinual exertion, and involved many a spiritual 
conflict. The history of his life gives us suf- 
ficient evidence of this fact, and presents more 
than one instance of his weakness, and the 
fierceness of the trials he endured. His en- 



Trial and Triumph. 289 

counter with the priests of Baal, and his flight 
from Jezebel, present a striking instance of 
the conflict of faith and fear in his mind. 
Strong in faith, he stood up before all the 
priests of Baal, the King, and all the people, 
and called upon God, who answered him by 
fire, and consumed his sacrifice. But scarcely 
had he received this signal display of the 
favor and power of God, than, seized with 
sudden fear on account of the threat of Jeze- 
bel against his life, he fled to Beersheba, 
and did not stop till he had gone a day's 
journey into the wilderness. His faith in this 
instance, through the weakness of human na- 
ture, appears to have yielded, at least tempo- 
rarily, to fear. 

This is not the only instance in which 
fear has, for a time, overcome the faith of 
eminently pious men. Cranmer, through the 
weakness of human nature, after a long and 
dreary imprisonment, and in view of a hor- 
rible and lingering death, yielded to fear, and 
signed a recantation of the evangelical doc- 
trines. But his faith revived, and testifying 
to the truth he suffered the pains of mar- 
tyrdom, holding out in the flames his right 

25 



290 Ptdpit Echoes, 

hand, with which he had signed the recanta- 
tion, declaring that it had offended, and that 
it should suffer first. 

The patience of the prophet was tried, and 
in this particular, also, we discover his weak- 
ness. When he fled into the wilderness of 
Beersheba, and sat down under a juniper tree, 
*' he requested for himself that he might die ; 
and said. It is enough ; now, O Lord, take 
away my life, for I am not better than my 
fathers/' This language manifests a degree 
of impatience and petulance. Like Job, under 
somewhat similar circumstances, he became 
weary of life, and he desired death. This 
desire does not, however, appear to have been 
produced by grace, like Paul's desire to de- 
part and be with Christ, or like Simeon's 
desire, having seen the salvation of God, to 
depart in peace ; but was rather the result 
of impatience and manifest dissatisfaction with 
his lot. How difficult it is, even for the best 
of men, under all circumstances, to possess 
their souls in patience ! 

His meekness under trial, and his spirit of 
resignation to the divine will, in his provi- 
dential dealings with him, were also severely 
tested, the result showing that in these re- 



Trial and Triumph. 291 

spects, likewise, he was not perfect above in- 
firmity. When God interrogated him on 
Mount Horeb in reference to his flight from 
Jezebel and his presence in that place, his an- 
swer manifests a spirit of self-will and self- 
vindication. *' He said, I have been very 
jealous for the Lord God of hosts: because 
the children of Israel have forsaken thy cove- 
nant, thrown down thine altars, and slain thy 
prophets with the sword, and I, even I only 
am left, and they seek my life to take it away." 
There seems to be a disposition manifested 
here to present in a prominent manner his 
own services and the people's sins. His con- 
duct on the occasion referred to does not 
admit of justification. But although God re- 
peated the question, ''What doest thou here, 
Elijah?'' he returned the same answer, without 
apparently suspecting the impropriety of his 
conduct in having, through the influence of 
fear, fled from the face of Jezebel. 

These instances are sufficient to show us 
the severity of the external trials through 
which the prophet was called to pass, and the 
internal conflicts he was called to endure. He 
possessed by nature an evil heart of unbelief, 
prone to depart from the living God. Like 



292 Pulpit Echoes. 

every other child of God, he had to ''fight the 
good fight," and contend against the world, 
the flesh, and the devil. Like that great mul- 
titude before the throne, he passed through 
"great tribulation/' 

We often admire Elijah in the eminence 
to which he attained, but forget, perhaps, that 
he was purified in the fires of affliction. Sanc- 
tified affliction is the highest school of Christ. 
Some of the brightest gems that glitter in the 
Savior's crown came out of great tribulation; 
and some of the richest gifts we enjoy are the 
fruits of sanctified affliction. We are indebted 
to an exile in Patmos for the sublime revela- 
tions of St. John; we are indebted to a poor 
prisoner, pining away in a dungeon, for the 
beauties of the ''Pilgrim's Progress;" we are 
indebted to an afflicted saint, confined to his 
chamber of suffering, for the heavenly con- 
templations of the " Saints' Rest." There is 
no exemption; we must suffer if we would 
reign. The cross is the only way to the 
crown. 

Conflict and trial always precede victory 
and triumph, but they are not always insepara- 
ble from them. Many have engaged in con- 
flicts who have not obtained the victory; and 



Trial and Triumph. 293 

many have been subject to trials who have 
not triumphed in the day of adversity. But 
EHjah was hot one of these. His trial was 
severe, and his triumph was glorious. 

Through grace he triumphed in life. In 
the midst of all his external trials and internal 
conflicts he possessed a principle of integrity 
and uprightness which made him true to his 
God. The magnetic needle when agitated may 
oscillate from side to side, but it will ever 
settle true to the magnet pole. The child of 
God, surrounded with external trials, and sub- 
ject to internal conflicts, may sometimes de- 
viate from the path of duty; but while he 
maintains his moral integrity — his singleness 
of purpose — there is a gracious principle with- 
in him which will lead him back to God, the 
great center of moral attraction and glory. 
Elijah possessed this gracious principle in an 
eminent degree. However agitated by trials, 
when God commanded him he never hesi- 
tated to obey. Although his lot was cast in 
evil times, and he was called to encounter 
the most powerful opposition, and was placed 
in circumstances of peculiar dependence, sub- 
jecting his faith, and patience, and meekness, 
and resignation, and all the graces of the Spirit 



294 Ptdpit Echoes. 

which he possessed, to the severest trial, yet 
through grace he obtained the victory over 
the world, the flesh, and the devil, and stood 
at last approved of God. In the midst of all 
his trials, God magnified his goodness to- 
ward him. He reproved his errors, corrected 
his misapprehensions, supplied his wants, sup- 
ported him by his grace, and crowned him 
with his love. 

Elijah also triumphed in his deathless exit 
from the world. Not only did he triumph 
over sin, but also over death. Death reigned 
from Adam to Moses, and from Moses to 
Elijah. With one single exception, death had 
triumphed over all who had passed away from 
the world. The most faithful and renowned 
servants of God had fallen beneath his power. 
Abraham, ^'the father of the faithful,'' the 
"friend of God," ''died in a good old age, 
an old man, and full of years," and was buried 
with Sarah, in the cave of Machpelah, in the 
field of Ephron, which he had bought of the 
sons of Heth. Moses, the lawgiver of his 
people, by whose hand God had performed 
so many wonders in Egypt, and had divided 
the waters of the Red Sea, and had smitten 
the flinty rock and caused it to send forth 



Trial and Triumph. 295 

its refreshing stream, when '' his eye was not 
dim, nor his natural force abated,'' ascended 
the mountain of Nebo, to the top of Pisgah, 
over against Jericho, and there died before the 
Lord. Aaron the high priest of God, who had 
been clothed with the sacerdotal garments, and 
had burned incense before the Lord, and min- 
istered in the holy place, and made atonement 
for the people, went up in the sight of all the 
congregation, and died in the top of Mount 
Hor. But Elijah, more honored than these, 
was permitted to triumph over death, and smile 
at the foe. His sting was rendered harmless, 
and his envenomed shafts were robbed of their 
power. Even the shadow of death was not 
permitted to fall on his pathway. Transformed, 
as the living saints shall be transformed when 
Christ shall appear, he was at once clothed 
with immortality, and ascended soul and body 
into heaven, to live with God forever. 

The manner of his exit was triumphant and 
glorious. He and Elisha walked together and 
conversed, not far, it is presumed, from the 
place where Moses died. Fifty of the sons 
of the prophets stood on the other side of 
Jordan, watching to see him ascend, and to 
catch some ray of his departing glory. The 



296 Pulpit Echoes. 

prophet serene in faith and joyful In hope, 
awaited the coming of his Lord. When, sud- 
denly as a flash of light, the shining retinue 
appeared, with the chariot of Israel and the 
horsemen thereof to convey him to the pres- 
ence and the throne. Transformed by divine 
power, yet retaining every thing essential to 
his nature, he who had so often trod the rough 
paths of the desert, and sighed on the mount- 
ains of Samaria, entered the chariot of fire, 
with horses of fire, resplendent as the sun, and 
in whirlwind and flame, escorted bv the anofels, 
went up to his God. 

The translation of Elijah was no doubt in- 
tended, in the first place, to aftbrd the Church 
in that dark and benighted age a sensible dem- 
onstration of the existence of another world, 
and of a future life. When they saw a man 
who for vears had sojourned among- them, and 
who possessed all the passions, propensities, 
and infirmities of human nature, castinof off his 
mantle, and ascending gloriously into heaven, 
it must have exerted a powerful influence on 
their minds, to confirm them in the belief of 
the existence of another world, and of a future 
life beyond the grave. 

As that was a typical dispensation, the 



Trial and Triumph. 297 

translation of Elijah was also intended, per- 
haps, as a type of the ascension of Christ, 
who, several hundred years afterward, went 
up, from the midst of his disciples, on a bright 
cloud, into heaven. Then was the glorious 
event prefigured in the ascension of Elijah 
realized, and our nature, in the person of 
Christ, our great Representative, exalted and 
glorified, and the kingdom of heaven opened 
to all them that believe. 

And, finally, it was no doubt intended as 
a reward for the prophet's faithfulness and ex- 
traordinary labors ; and also as an encourage- 
ment to all others to imitate his godly ex- 
ample, and follow in his shining footsteps, 
"knowing that their labor shall not be in vain 
in the Lord/' God rewarded Elijah's faith- 
fulness ; and he will reward the faithful ser- 
vices of all his children. Elijah was not per- 
mitted to see death, but was escorted by 
angels in triumph to heaven. We must go 
down to the tomb, but Jesus has hallowed its 
shade, and after we have slumbered awhile, 
he will send forth the angels to awake us into 
life, and in chariots of flame we shall ascend 
to the '' shining shore/' and enter in triumph 
through the ''pearly gates." The God of 



298 Ptdpit Echoes. 

Elijah IS the Christian's God, and the home 
of Ehjah will be the Christian's home. He 
is only detained avrhile in the outer court till 
the morning dawn and the shadows fade. His 
language is : 

^^ Only waiting till the angels 
Open wide the mystic gate, 
At whose feet I long have lingered, 
Weary, poor, and desolate. 

^^ Even now I hear their footsteps, 
And their voices far away; 
If they call me, I am waiting, 
Only waiting to obey." 



yourneying to Zion. 299 



XVII. 

JOURNEYING TO ZION. 

^^And an highway shall be there ^ and a way, and it shall be called. 
The way of holiness,^'' etc, Isaiah xxxv : 8-10. 



r w -^ 



'^HIS chapter contains a sublime and 
glorious prophecy of Christ and his 
kingdom. The prophet, in order to 
show the blessings resulting from the advent 
of Christ and the full establishment of his 
kingdom in the world, seems to lay nature 
under tribute. He represents the wilderness 
and the solitary places of the earth as being 
gladdened, and the barren, dreary desert as 
breaking forth into songs of rejoicing. He 
declares, "They shall blossom abundantly, and 
rejoice even with joy and singing ; the glory 
of Lebanon shall be given unto it, and the 
excellency of Carmel and Sharon : they shall 
see the glory of the Lord, and the excellency 
of our God.'' 

It must be remembered that in the Holy 



300 Pulpit Echoes, 

Land every hillside is not rendered musical 
by the leaping of rills from its crags and 
cliffs, and every valley is not rendered fertile 
by some meandering stream, as in our land. 
The mountains are often parched, and the 
valleys dry. Hence water, from its extreme 
scarcity in many parts, is prized by the inhabi- 
tants as one of their richest blessings. There 
are on the northern border of Palestine two 
ranges of mountains, Lebanon and Anti-Leba- 
non, known, however, by the common name of 
Lebanon. The loftiest peaks of these moun- 
tains are continually covered with snow, and 
formerly their sides were clothed with lofty and 
beautiful cedars. The river Jordan, so much 
celebrated in Scripture, took its rise in these 
mountains, and the continual melting of the 
snow upon their summits tended to supply its 
stream. It annually overflowed its banks, so 
that ''all the plain of the Jordan was well 
watered everywhere even as the garden of 
the Lord.'' The Jordan was therefore consid- 
ered one of the richest blessings of the land. 
Lebanon was the source whence it issued, and 
this was one of its glories. The glory of Leb- 
anon shall be given to the Church. It shall be 
the source of our richest blessings and purest 



yourneying to Zion. 301 

joys. Lebanon also produced material for the 
erection of the temple in Jerusalem. We are 
informed that the Sidonians brought cedars 
from the forests of Lebanon to Joppa, whence 
they were taken to Jerusalem and employed 
in the erection of the temple on Mount Zion. 
In like manner the Church shall afford mate- 
rials for the erection of the spiritual temple on 
the Mount Zion above. It is declared of the 
finally faithful that they shall be "made pillars 
in the temple of God, to go no more out.'' 

Carmet was a celebrated mountain in the 
land of Canaan, extending some ten or twelve 
miles nearly north and south, coming from the 
plain of Esdraelon, and terminating in the cape 
or promontory which forms the bay of Accho. 
It was richly wooded, and covered with its own 
native vine, which produces the most delicious 
fruits in luxuriant abundance. It was cele- 
brated as the place where Elijah prevailed with 
God in prayer, and obtained rain, after the 
heavens had been shut up for three years and 
six months. The excellency of Carmel shall 
be given to the Church. In it the people of 
God shall prevail with him in prayer, as did 
Elijah, and they shall, like Carmel, bring forth 
abundant fruit to the glory of God. 



302 Pulpit Echoes, 

The name Sharon means a plain, and Is sup- 
posed to have been appHed to that ''broad, rich 
tract of land which lies between the mountains 
of the central part of the Holy Land and the 
Mediterranean." It seems to have been a 
place of excellent pasturage, abounding in 
beautiful bowers. Hence we hear Israel's 
king singing of the ''rose of Sharon and the 
lily of the valley.'' Its excellency also shall 
be given to the Church. There God shall 
lead forth his people in the green pastures 
of his love, they shall respose in the bowers 
of peace, and rest beneath the "shadow of 
the Almighty." 

In anticipation of these glorious blessings 
the prophet exhorts and encourages his breth- 
ren : " Strengthen ye the weak hands, and 
confirm the feeble knees. Say to them that 
are of a fearful heart. Be strong, fear not : 
behold your God will come with vengeance," 
— on them that rebel against him — "even 
God with a recompense:" — to them that 
serve him — "he will come and save you." 
He then utters a prediction in reference 
to the miracles of Christ, which was lit- 
erally fulfilled, and after again alluding to 
the prosperity of the Church, introduces the 



Journeyiiig to Zion. 303 

language of the text, which is chiefly descrip- 
tive of the character of God's people, and the 
blessedness they enjoy under the Gospel: ''And 
an highway shall be there, and a way, and it 
shall be called. The way of holiness ; the unclean 
shall not pass over it ; but it shall be for those : 
the wayfaring men, though fools, shall not err 
therein. No lion shall be there, nor any rav- 
enous beast shall go up thereon, it shall not 
be found there : but the redeemed shall walk 
there. And the ransomed of the Lord shall 
return, and come to Zion with songs, and 
everlasting joy upon their heads : they shall 
obtain joy and gladness, and sorrow and sigh- 
ing shall flee away/' Let us notice, 

I. The characters here described — ''The 
redeemed — the ransomed of the Lord." 

I . Redemptio7i presupposes captivity or bond- 
age. We can not think of redemption with- 
out associating with it the idea of captivity or 
bondage in some form or other. Such was the 
natural condition of the characters here de- 
scribed. Like the prodigal, they had wandered 
from their Father's house, were enslaved by 
the world and sin, and were taken captive by 
Satan at his will. They were bondmen of sin, 
under its dominion and power. 



304 Pulpit Echoes. 

2. Redemption implies deliverance. They 
have been delivered from their captivity or 
bondao-e. The claims of the divine law have 
been satisfied, and the power of sin and Satan 
over them has been broken. They have been 
made partakers of the liberty wherewith Christ 
is able to make us free. 

There are various ways in which captives 
may be redeemed. This is sometimes done by 
conquest, as in the case of Abraham, when he 
pursued the confederated kings, and by his 
sword delivered Lot and his people out of their 
hands. It is sometimes done bv an exchanore 
of captives. This is common in all warfare 
among civilized men. One prisoner or captive 
is exchanored for another. It is also sometimes 
effected by a ransom price being paid for their 
deliverance. A slave may be redeemed by 
purchasing his freedom. A man who has 
been captured by robbers, as is frequently the 
case amonor Italian and other bricrands, mavbe 
redeemed by the payment of a ransom price. 

In this latter way it pleased God to redeem 
the world. Hence the characters here spoken 
of are termed the *' ransomed of the Lord." 
The apostle tells us that we are not our 
own, but that we are bought with a price. 



yourneying to Zion. 305 

And we are assured again that we are not re- 
deemed with corruptible things, such as silver 
and gold, but with the precious blood of our 
Lord Jesus Christ, ''who gave himself a ransom 
for all, to be testified in due time/' Here we 
perceive that the characters spoken of in the 
text have been redeemed by a ransom price, 
and that price is nothing less than the precious 
blood of Jesus. 

We must not regard the redemption of the 
world by Christ, however, in the light of a 
private contract — so much merit for so much 
sin. Such a view would degrade the atone- 
ment, and lead to the greatest error. Christ, 
in the redemption of the world, rendered unto 
God, in his official capacity as governor of the 
universe, a sufficient satisfaction to enable him 
in the administration of his government to be 
just, and yet to extend mercy and salvation to 
men on certain conditions. In this general 
sense all men are redeemed and placed on sal- 
vable grounds. Salvation is placed within the 
reach of all, and they may, if they will, embrace 
it. But those only who comply with the con- 
ditions of salvation, repent of their sins, believe 
on the Lord Jesus Christ, and render obedience 

to the divine requirements, are individually and 

26 



5o6 Pulpit Echoes, 

actually saved. Such are not only redeemed 
in the o-eneral sense, but thev are redeemed In 
a particular sense. The dominion of Satan 
and the power of sin over them are broken, and 
they rejoice in the libert}' of God's dear chil- 
dren. Christ indeed is made unto them ''wis- 
dom, and righteousness, and sanctification, and 
redemption/' That which was rendered possi- 
ble bv the death of Christ, has, through the 
power of his Spirit and grace, been actually 
realized in their experience. They are the 
freedmen of the Lord, the ransomed of the 
Most Hlc^h. Let us now notice, 

II. The ccV7v In which the redeemed walk. 
It is presented to us under different aspects. 

I. // is described as a hi^hz^'ar. Hicfhwavs 
are established by public authority, and are 
designed for general use. Xo one dare place 
any obstruction thereon, or forbid any one walk- 
ing therein. The plan which God has adopted 
to bring men to his eternal kingdom and glory 
is of divine authority, and is provided for the 
vrorld. It Is not a mere human device, arrang- 
ed by man's ingenuit};, and enforced only by his 
autliorit}', but it is the result of the exercise of 
infinite wisdom, and is enforced bv divine au- 
thority. All may avail themselves of Its privi- 



yourneying to Zion. 307 

leges, and become partakers of Its benefits. In 
this way a world of sinners may return to God. 

2. It is a holy way. It is emphatically called 
''the way of holiness." The way of holiness is 
the only way to heaven. We are assured that 
without holiness ''no man shall see the Lord." 
Hence we are exhorted, "Be ye holy; for I the 
Lord your God am holy." We are also taught 
to have our fruit unto holiness, that the end 
may be everlasting life; to perfect holiness in 
the fear of God; for, says the apostle, "God 
hath not called us to uncleanness, but to holi- 
ness." The way of salvation is the way of 
purity. The Gospel makes no provision for 
indulgence in any sin, or in anything that mor- 
ally defiles the soul. Christ came into the 
world that he might destroy the works of the 
devil ; and we are assured that his blood cleans- 
eth us from all sin. The redeemed in heaven 
are represented as having washed their robes 
and made them white in the blood of the Lamb. 
None but the pure in heart shall see God. 

3. // is a plain way. This is one of the 
glories of the Gospel — one of the great excel- 
lencies of God's method of saving sinners. It 
points out plainly the way of duty and of happi- 
ness. All that is necessary to our salvation 



3o8 Ptdpit Echoes, 

may be understood by any rational mind. ''The 
wayfaring men, though fools" — in the estima- 
tion of the world, if sincere inquirers after the 
truth — ''shall not err therein." The philoso- 
phers of the ancient schools thought their phi- 
losophy too sublime to be understood by the 
great mass of mankind. None but the favored 
few could be inducted into its secrets, and could 
comprehend its mysteries. But it is the glory 
of the Gospel, the divine plan of salvation, that 
it is adapted to every capacity, and to every 
class of men. The learned and the illiterate, 
the aged and the young, the rich and the poor, 
may all alike rejoice in a knowledge of its sav- 
ing truths, and be guided by them to heaven. 
Here, as beheld by Ezekiel in divine vision, are 
waters shallow enough for the feeblest to wade, 
and depths profound enough for the mightiest 
to swim. 

4. It is a safe way. The ways along the 
Jordan were infested with lions and ravenous 
beasts. There are many ways that are dan- 
gerous, and travel upon them is hazardous. 
But the way of duty is always the way of safety. 
While a man is engaged in the discharge of 
his duty — in the service of his God — he need 
fear no evil; God will preserve him, and spread 



journeying to Zion. 309 

over him the broad shield of his protecting 
providence. There is no danger on the way, 
but if we turn aside ^^;;^ the way we shall be 
destroyed. Bunyan, in his '' Pilgrim's Prog- 
ress/' clearly illustrates this truth. Pilgrim on 
one occasion came to a point in his journey 
where two lions appeared, one on each side of 
the way, and he was filled with apprehension. 
But as he steadily advanced and drew nearer, 
he perceived that they were both chained, and 
that their chains were too short to permit them 
to cross his path, and steadily pursuing his way 
he passed between them unharmed. But had 
he turned to either side he would have been 
devoured. However a man may be surrounded 
with dangers, he is always safe while obeying 
God, and pursuing the way that he has marked 
out for him ; but if he departs from this way, 
he exposes himself to danger and destruction. 
5. It is a delightful way. The ways of re- 
ligion are pleasant ways, and all her paths are 
peace. The redeemed are represented as re- 
turning upon this way to Zion, with songs and 
everlasting joy upon their heads. Although 
they may sometimes pass through deep waters 
and fiery trials, they can rejoice in hope of 
the glory that awaits them. From the land of 



3IO Pttlpit Echoes. 

Beulah, and the delectable mountains, whose 
tops they sometimes gain, they obtain sweet 
glimpses of the Celestial City, that fill them 
with rapture and delight. There is no peace 
like the peace of pardon and divine assur- 
ance; and there is no joy like joy in the Holy 
Ghost, inspiring the soul with the hope of eter- 
nal life. I notice, 

III. The place to which the redeemed are 
journeying in this way — ''To Zion.'' 

Zion proper was a hill within the walls of 
Jerusalem, on the northeast, on which the king's 
palace was erected. But the whole of Jerusa- 
lem was known bv the common name of ''Zion/* 
Zion was the place where all the tribes of Israel 
assembled to worship God in his temple, where 
they forgot their sorrows in the joy of his wor- 
ship. The term "Zion" is sometimes used to 
denote the Church on earth, but here we un- 
derstand it to refer to the Church triumphant 

in heaven. 

I. The redeemed ai^e here represented as 

journeying to the Zion above, where sta7ids the 
heavenly temple, and the palace of the Great 
Khig. There they " shall see the King in his 
beauty, and the land that is very far off" Now 
they are distant from their heavenly home, they 



yourneying to Zion. 311 

see through a glass darkly, and know but in 
part; but there they shall see eye to eye, and 
know even as they are known. They shall enter 
through the pearly gates, and tread the golden 
streets, and worship at the shining throne. 

2. They are journeying to the place where all 
God's people, who have been divided and sepa- 
rated on earth, shall meet, and with joy and rap- 
titre unite in his worship. There the scattered 
tribes shall be united, and those who never wor- 
shiped together on earth, shall join " the Gen- 
eral Assembly and Church of the first-born,'' 
and worship together in heaven. "There those 
long parted shall meet again, and those who 
meet shall never part.'' There the sorrow- 
ing ones of earth shall overtake their loved 
ones in their rest. Many have already passed 
on before us, and others are standing on the 
banks of Jordan waiting for the boatman, cold 
and pale, to row them across the mystic 
stream, and beyond the chilling tide they shall 
greet each other on ''the shining shore." 
After awhile others will overtake them, and 
the severed ties of earth will be reunited in 
heaven, and the redeemed will stand in beauty 
on the Mount Zion above, and join the wor- 
ship and rapture of heaven. TJiis is the places 



312 Pulpit Echoes. 

of alienation and parting ; that is the place of 
reunion and joy. 

3. They are jotivneying to a place where sor- 
row and sighing shall be unknown. Here we 
have many sorrows; we heave many sighs, and 
shed many tears; but there we ''shall obtain joy 
and gladness, and sorrow and sighing shall flee 
away/' There every sorrow will be banished, 
and every tear will be dried. There ''sickness 
and sorrow, pain and death, will be felt and 
feared no more.'' 

"No tears! no tears! 
Will there a day come that I shall not weepl 
For I bedew my pillow in my sleep. 
Yes, yes; thank God! no grief that clime shall keep, 
No weary years.'' 

Oh then, ye pilgrims to Zion, trust in the 
Master, and press your way to the kingdom. 

"O weary heads! rest on your Savior's bosom. 
O weary feet! press on the path he trod. 
O weary souls ! your rest shall be remaining, 
When ye have gained the city of your God. 

"O glorious city! jasper built and shining 
With God's own glory in effulgent light, 
Wherein no manner of defilement cometh, 
Nor any shadow flung from passing night." 



Deacidified using the Bookkeeper process. 
Neutralizing agent: Magnesium Oxide 
Treatment Date: May 2006 

PreservationTechnologies 

A WORLD LEADER IN PAPER PRESERVATION 

1 1 1 Thomson Park Dnve 
Cranberry Township. PA 1 6066 
(724)779-2111 



